TRUST FUND GUIDE
A plain-English guide to the United States Gypsum Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust, how it pays claims, and the current numbers.
If you or a family member worked around United States Gypsum products and later got sick, you may have a claim against a bankruptcy trust that was set up to pay people harmed by asbestos. This guide explains what the USG Asbestos Trust is, which products and jobs it covers, and how much a claim may be worth today.
We are Throneberry Law Group, a nationwide mesothelioma and asbestos firm. We help workers and families file trust claims and pursue every source of recovery. Our founding attorney, Michael Throneberry, has a personal connection to this disease. His father-in-law died of mesothelioma. If you have questions after reading this, you can contact us for a free case review.
CURRENT TRUST STATUS
The trust pays 11 percent of a claim’s value. That percentage was reduced to 11 percent in a trust notice dated November 7, 2024, down from 12.7 percent. The trust reviews and can change the percentage over time, so the current figure may be different when you file. Source: The United States Gypsum Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust payment percentage notice, November 7, 2024.
BACKGROUND
The USG Asbestos Trust pays people who got sick from asbestos in products made or sold by United States Gypsum. United States Gypsum Corporation was one of the largest building-materials makers in the country. Its joint compounds, plasters, and wall products were used on job sites and in homes for decades.
United States Gypsum Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with a petition date of June 25, 2001, after facing a flood of asbestos injury claims. The trust was established in 2006 under the company’s reorganization plan, and it took over responsibility for paying present and future asbestos claims. Source: USG Amended Trust Distribution Procedures, revised December 2, 2015.
The trust also handles claims tied to A.P. Green, a refractory-products company that United States Gypsum owned before 1968. Under the trust’s rules, exposure to A.P. Green products before January 2, 1968 can support a USG-related claim. This is why the trust is sometimes listed as the USG/A.P. Green trust.
PRODUCTS & COMPANIES COVERED
The trust covers a range of United States Gypsum and A.P. Green building and industrial products. These are the main product families tied to the trust and drawn from the firm’s internal Bankruptcy Product List and affidavit checklist.
The asbestos years for USG joint compound run from the 1920s to 1976, and the A.P. Green window runs from the late 1940s into the early 1970s. A worker whose exposure falls inside these windows is the kind of claimant the trust was built to pay. We match your work history to the right product and date range before we file.
INDUSTRIES, TRADES & OCCUPATIONS
United States Gypsum products were common in construction and in home building. Drywall finishers, tapers, plasterers, painters, carpenters, and general laborers mixed and sanded joint compound, which put asbestos dust into the air. People who worked in the construction trades often handled these products day after day.
A.P. Green refractory products add a second group of workers. Furnace and boiler crews, refractory bricklayers, steelworkers, and industrial maintenance workers were exposed when they installed, tore out, or repaired the linings inside high-heat equipment. Family members were sometimes exposed second-hand from dust carried home on work clothes.
HOW IT WORKS
United States Gypsum set a scheduled value for each disease level in its Trust Distribution Procedures, then pays a share of that value called the payment percentage. The more serious the illness, the higher the scheduled value.
The current payment percentage is 11 percent. On an Expedited Review claim, the trust pays 11 percent of the fixed scheduled value for your disease. On an Individual Review claim, the trust pays 11 percent of the gross settlement value it assigns after a full look at your case. Source: USG payment percentage notice, November 7, 2024, and the USG Amended TDP.
A quick example. At the $155,000 mesothelioma scheduled value and the current 11 percent payment percentage, an Expedited Review mesothelioma claim pays about $17,050 from this one trust. Most clients have valid claims against several trusts, so this is one piece of a larger recovery.
FILING OPTIONS
United States Gypsum offers a faster fixed-value track and a full-review track. The right choice depends on how strong and how well documented your case is.
Expedited Review
The trust checks your records against its standard medical and exposure criteria and pays the fixed scheduled value for your disease level, multiplied by the payment percentage. This track is faster and gives a predictable result.
Individual Review
The trust looks at your case in detail. The value can be higher than the scheduled value, up to the maximum value for your disease level, but it takes longer and calls for stronger proof. Well-documented mesothelioma cases often do better here.
THE NUMBERS
These are the scheduled, average, and maximum values in the trust’s Trust Distribution Procedures, revised December 2, 2015. Expedited Review pays the scheduled value times the payment percentage. Individual Review can reach the average or maximum for the more serious levels.
| Disease Level | Scheduled Value | Average Value | Maximum Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesothelioma (Level VIII) | $155,000 | $225,000 | $450,000 |
| Lung Cancer 1 (Level VII) | $45,000 | $55,000 | $100,000 |
| Lung Cancer 2 (Level VI) | Individual Review | $15,000 | $35,000 |
| Other Cancer (Level V) | $15,000 | $18,000 | $35,000 |
| Severe Asbestosis (Level IV) | $30,000 | $35,000 | $50,000 |
| Asbestosis / Pleural (Level III) | $8,300 | n/a | n/a |
| Asbestosis / Pleural (Level II) | $2,625 | n/a | n/a |
| Other Asbestos Disease (Level I) | $400 | n/a | n/a |
Lung Cancer 2 (Level VI) has no fixed scheduled value and is handled through Individual Review. The trust adjusts these values each year for inflation, capped at 3 percent, so the current numbers may be a little higher than the base figures shown. You can read more about how mesothelioma compensation comes together across trusts and lawsuits.
GETTING STARTED
A strong trust claim takes preparation. Here is the path most clients walk with our firm.
1. Gather medical records. You need clear proof of diagnosis, usually a pathology report and a doctor’s statement tying the illness to asbestos.
2. Document your work history. Build a record of every job site, employer, and product you worked around, with dates.
3. Match to covered products. Tie your exposure back to USG or A.P. Green products inside the asbestos date windows. That link decides whether the claim is paid.
4. Choose your review track. Your attorney helps decide between Expedited Review and Individual Review based on your records.
5. File and track. Submit the claim and supporting documents, then follow it through review, payment, and any lien resolution.
WHY THRONEBERRY LAW
Trust claims can look simple on paper, but small choices change the outcome by thousands of dollars. The disease level you claim, the review track you pick, and the way you document exposure all matter.
22+ Years of Asbestos Work
Attorney Michael Throneberry has pursued asbestos cases for more than two decades, with hundreds of trust and lawsuit recoveries. We know how the USG trust reads a file and what proof moves a claim.
No Fee Unless We Win
We work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you, and your first case review is free.
Personal Attention
Our founding attorney stays involved in every case, and we travel to you, including to your home or hospital room. We also serve Spanish-speaking families.
GET HELP
If you worked around United States Gypsum or A.P. Green products and later developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or another asbestos disease, the USG trust may owe you money. It is often one of several trusts that can pay a single worker. We find every trust and every claim that fits your history, then handle the filings so you can focus on your health. You can also compare asbestos settlements and see how trust money fits the bigger picture.
If someone in your family has mesothelioma or another asbestos illness, we can review your work history at no cost and tell you which trusts may pay. There is no fee unless we win. To get started, reach our team through our contact form.
SOURCES
United States Gypsum Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust, official site (usgasbestostrust.com), Overview and Payments pages (payment percentage).
USG Payment Percentage Notice, November 7, 2024 (reduction to 11 percent from 12.7 percent).
USG Amended Trust Distribution Procedures, revised December 2, 2015 (petition date June 25, 2001; disease levels and scheduled, average, and maximum values).
Product and exposure detail from the firm’s internal Bankruptcy Affidavit (Mooney) checklist and Bankruptcy Product List.
DISCLAIMER
This page is general information, not legal advice. Trust payment percentages, scheduled values, and rules change over time, and the figures here may not be current when you read them. Contacting us through a form or a call does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and past results do not promise a future outcome.
© 2026 Throneberry Law Group. All rights reserved.
Get the Help You Deserve
To schedule your initial consultation, please fill out the form or call 888.506.1131
"*" indicates required fields
