A.B.B. Lummus Global Incorporated

ABB Lummus Group utilized electrical and industrial products containing asbestos in countless industrial plants throughout the country. Subsequent litigation resulted from the company’s use of asbestos and led the company to file for bankruptcy. Following this, a trust fund was established to handle the $22.5 million in asbestos claims.

ABB Lummus was created in 1995 following the merger between two companies that utilized asbestos in both electrical and industrial products. These predecessor companies utilize electrical systems, feedwater heaters, and steam turbines while constructing chemical plants, power plants, and factories.

ABB Lummus later changed its name to Lummus Technology. Today, the company offers project management, engineering, and provides process technologies. The company also helped construct hydroprocessing plants for oil, gas, and petrochemical ventures as well as other industrial plants including chemical and power plants.

Instead of directly manufacturing asbestos products, ABB Lummus placed asbestos products in the construction and design of industrial plants. Consequently, ABB Lummus faced such a substantial number of asbestos claims that the company later filed for bankruptcy.

In producing both electrical as well as industrial products, ABB Lummus dealt with a large amount of asbestos and consequently placed a large number of workers in danger. Some of the products in which ABB Lummus placed asbestos include:

• AC cables
• Electrical systems
• Gaskets
• Generators
• Steam turbines
• Valves
• Wiring insulation

Due to ABB’s use of asbestos, the company has been involved in thousands of lawsuits involving asbestos exposure. Workers of ABB as well as its subsidiaries argue that asbestos at the company’s manufacturing facilities caused serious illnesses.

Exposure was not only an issue for ABB workers, though. Many workers at other companies that utilized ABB products were also exposed. Some of the most common types of workers that were exposed to asbestos at ABB include laborers, machinists, metal workers, and mechanics.

At the start of the 2000s, ABB received a large number of asbestos-related claims. Many of these claims were from decades earlier because asbestos-related illnesses routinely take years before symptoms can be seen.

Two of the subsidiaries that faced the biggest number of legal challenges include Lummus Global and Combustion Engineering Incorporated. Combustion Engineering was met with 100,000 claims associated with asbestos exposure, while ABB faced thousands of claims. ABB was required to pay many of these claims and ultimately established a trust fund as it reorganized through Chapter 11.

Combustion Engineering filed for bankruptcy in 2005, while Lummus Global filed for bankruptcy in 2006. Lummus Global finally settled its claims in 2006. As a term of its emergence from bankruptcy, ABB was required to establish an asbestos trust fund. The trust fund addresses both current and future claims initiated against Combustion Engineering and Lummus Global.

If you or a loved one worked for ABB or an affiliated company, you might be in danger of facing a mesothelioma-related illness as a result of asbestos used by the company. As a result, you should not hesitate to speak with a compassionate attorney. Contact Throneberry Law Group to schedule a free case evaluation.