M.H. Detrick Company

M.H. Detrick manufactured asbestos-containing materials from the 1930s to the 1960s. Asbestos litigation caused the company to pursue bankruptcy in 1998. A trust fund was later established in 2002 to address asbestos exposure claims.

Despite challenges involving asbestos and associated litigation, MH Detrick continues to operate. The company is focused on producing refractory construction for heat enclosures in industrial environments. Detrick sells materials for industries that use high-temperature settings as well as chemical corrosion.

The company was founded in Illinois in 1925. Detrick quickly expanded into one of the biggest manufacturers of heat enclosure refractory linings. Products manufactured by Detrick routinely contained asbestos due to the material’s heat-resistant nature.

Despite the publication of materials addressing the health risks of asbestos, manufacturers continued using asbestos in refractory materials. Some of the products manufactured by Detrick known to contain asbestos include block insulation, permiseal, asbestos rope, asbestos board, pipe coverings, and fire bricks.

Any workers who dealt with asbestos while at Detrick are at risk of developing serious illnesses.

Exposure to asbestos caused some people to later develop serious illnesses. Some workers claimed that Detrick failed to warn about the dangers associated with asbestos.

Lawsuits against Detrick started in the 1980s. Many of these lawsuits involved workers who had been exposed to asbestos over a decade before.

One case saw a worker and his wife initiate legal action against the company. The lawsuit named several companies including Detrick and claimed that the worker was exposed to asbestos while we functioned as a pipefitter at an oil refinery. The man later passed away from mesothelioma, but his widow ultimately received compensation.

Another case was initiated by a man named MH Detrick as well as 26 other defendants. The plaintiff had been employed as a pipefitter between the 1940s to the 1980s at an Exxon oil refinery in Louisiana. The man was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1994 and passed away a year later. MH Detrick and the other companies settled the case before it proceeded to court.

Detrick filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan in 1988 after facing lawsuits related to asbestos exposure. The company provided during this time that it had manufactured asbestos products from 1939 to 1964. Products manufactured by the company included cement as well as insulation. Future asbestos claims against Detrick will be compensated from this trust.

The MH Detrick Asbestos Trust was created in 2002 with $3 million and started taking claims. The trust compensated workers who were exposed to products manufactured by MH Detrick from 1939 to 1964. The claim period for the trust ended in 2011. The trust is currently closed.

If you or a loved one works for M.H. Detrick or an associated company, you might be at risk of facing a mesothelioma-associated illness due to asbestos exposure. If you find yourself in such a situation, you should not hesitate to contact an attorney at Throneberry Law Group today.