Click on a table heading to sort by that column.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Administrative Hold | A temporary hold placed on a claim by the Trust until a specific issue is resolved. |
| Asbestos | Asbestos is a natural fibrous material mined from serpentine rock. This rock is crushed and fibrous strands of asbestos are extracted from the rock. The strands are then used as ingredients in insulation and other materials. |
| Asbestosis (ASB) | A chronic lung disease resulting from irreversible fibrosis of the lung tissue due to asbestos exposure. It is characterized by diffuse interstitial fibrosis (scar tissue formation). The onset of the disease is gradual, developing over a period of 10 to 30 years. Symptoms include cough, exertional breathlessness, increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, crackling rales in the lower part of the lungs, and digital clubbing. |
| ATS | American Thoracic Society |
| Awaiting Quality Assurance | The claim has been reviewed and selected for the Quality Assurance audits. |
| BARNMD | Bilateral Asbestos-Related Non-Malignent Disease. |
| Certificate of Official Capacity (COC) or Affidavit of Personal Representative | A notarized affidavit that verifies that the individual signing the affidavit has authority to file a claim on behalf of the Injured Party or the Injured Party's estate and wrongful death beneficiaries. The Affidavit is used when court appointed documentation is not available or necessary. |
| Check Issued | The claim settlement check is issued. |
| Checked Out By | Individual at the Trust currently processing the claim. |
| Checked Out Date | The date the claim was checked out by an individual at the Trust. |
| Claim Closed | The settlement check has cleared and the claim is paid. |
| Claim Filing Summary Report | Provides the total number of claims filed by each attorney and provides a breakdown of claims by claim status. |
| Claim Number | The claim number assigned and referenced by the Trust. |
| Claim Status | A status is assigned to each claim, determined by where the claim is in the review process. A claim’s status will change as it goes through the review process. Trust Online users can view the status of a claim at any time. |
| Claim Status Breakdown Report | Lists detailed claim information by status. |
| Claimant | The Injured Party or the Personal Representative who filed the claim. |
| Contact Person | A designated person who is not the personal representative, but who can obtain information from the Trust about a specific claim. |
| Current Queue | Current storage place for the claim depending upon its status, deficiencies, and/or activity codes. Generally, if a claim is in a queue, it is waiting to be processed by the Trust. If the claim’s Current Queue is in a specific tank (e.g., Mailroom Tank), the Trust is awaiting a response from the Firm. |
| Date Received | Date that the Trust received the claim. |
| Deemed Withdrawn | The claim is deemed to have been withdrawn by the Trust. |
| Deferred | A claimant can request that the processing of his or her claim by the Trust be deferred for a period not to exceed three (3) years without affecting the status of the claim for statute of limitation purposes. |
| Deficiency Code | The codes generated to send notices about missing information or documentation. |
| Deficient Claim | The claim is missing information or documentation that is required by the Trust. |
| Detail Deficiency Report | A list of current deficiencies for each claim grouped by attorney. |
| Disallowed | The Trust has determined that a claim cannot be paid and should be removed from further processing. |
| Draft | A claim created on the website but not yet submitted. It is saved on the website but not considered filed until it is submitted to the Trust |
| Duplicate Claim | A claim received by the Trust that matches another claim for the same Injured Party, which already appears in the DII Trust database. The Trust can process only one claim per Injured Party for a single injury. Duplicate claims are placed on administrative hold until the issue is resolved. |
| Electronic Filer Agreement | To access DII Asbestos Trust Online, the user registers with the Trust by executing the Electronic Filer Agreement that governs the terms of the user's access. |
| Exigent Hardship Claim | A claim qualifies as an Exigent Hardship claim if it meets the Medical/Exposure criteria for Severe Asbestosis (Disease Level IV) or an asbestos-related malignancy (Disease Levels V-VIII), and Trust, in its sole discretion, determines that (a) the Claimant needs financial assistance on an immediate basis based on the Claimant's expenses and all sources of available income and (b) that there is a causal connection between the Claimant's dire financial condition and the Claimant's asbestos-related disease ("Exigent Hardship Claims"). The Trust considers all claims involving a Claimant who is living with a mesothelioma diagnosis an Exigent Claim and will process it accordingly. |
| Expedited Review (ER) | This election is designed primarily to provide an expeditious, efficient and inexpensive method of liquidating all claims (except those involving Lung Cancer 2 (Disease Level VI) claims, Foreign Claims and Indirect Claims) where the claim can be easily verified as meeting presumptive medical and exposure criteria. The ER method thus provides a Claimant with a substantially less burdensome process for pursuing claims than does the Individual Review Process. Allowed ER claims receive a fixed dollar amount as specified in the TDP. |
| External Claim Audit | The Trust is governed by Section 5.8 of the Trust Distribution Procedures, which requires that the Trust perform an external audit of the exposure information and medical proof submitted to the Trust. |
| Extract Deficiencies Report | A list of deficiency information in a spreadsheet format to download or print. |
| FIFO | When a claim form is submitted to the Trust, it is assigned an order for processing called First-In-First-Out, or FIFO. |
| Firm | The law firm of the representing attorney. |
| Foreign Claim | A PI Trust Claim with respect to which the A “Foreign Claim†is an Asbestos PI Trust Claim with respect to which the claimant’s exposure to an asbestos-containing product for which any Halliburton Entity or Harbison-Walker Entity has legal responsibility occurred outside of the United States and its Territories and Possessions, and outside of the Provinces and Territories of Canada. |
| Hold | A temporary hold placed on a claim by the Trust until a specific issue is resolved. |
| ILO | The acronym stands for International Labor Organization. For the Trust's purposes, it refers to the system for classifying chest x-rays. The system provides a simple method for evaluating chest x-rays with abnormalities caused by the inhalation of all types of dust, including asbestos. The ILO rating refers to the severity of fibrosis found by the chest x-ray, with 0/0 being a normal x-ray and 3/4 indicating the most severe interstitial disease. |
| In Quality Assurance | The claim is in the process of being audited for quality assurance. |
| In Use By Trust | The Trust is currently processing the claim. |
| Indirect Claim | A claim filed by another entity based on a verdict, judgment or settlement obtained by a Claimant who filed or may file a claim with the Trust. The Indirect Claimant is seeking payment from the Trust by asserting a theory of contribution. |
| Individual Review (IR) | This election is designed for claimants alleging disease levels IV-VIII who seek to establish a Liquidated Value for a claim that is greater than its Scheduled Value in the ER process, or, claimants who do not meet the presumptive medical or exposure criteria. However, an IR value may be less than the ER Scheduled Value. There are certain types of claims, such as, Foreign, Secondary Exposure, and Indirect, which must undergo Individual Review. |
| Injured Person/Party | The individual who was directly injured due to exposure to asbestos. |
| Intake Deficient | Occurs when a claim is missing basic intake information, such as a Social Security number or an alleged injury. |
| Interstitial | The tissue between the air sacs of the lung. |
| Last Review Date | The most recent date that the claim was reviewed by the Trust. |
| Legal Representative | The Legal Representative serves in a fiduciary capacity, representing the interests of the future Asbestos PI Trust Claimants, for the purpose of protecting the rights of persons who might subsequently assert future claims. |
| Liquidated Amount | The Liquidated Amount is also sometimes referred to as the liquidated value and means: (a) the amount set forth in an applicable Settlement Agreement, provided that the Claimant satisfies the conditions for payment set forth in such agreement, (b) with respect to an Asbestos Final Judgment Claim, the amount of such judgment, or (c) for all other Asbestos PI Trust Claims, the amount established pursuant to the TDP. |
| Mesothelioma (Meso) | A malignant tumor of the pleura, the peritoneum, or the pericardium. |
| Offer Issued | Status of a claim which means a release was mailed to the claimant for settlement. |
| Other Asbestos Disease | A BARNMD or an asbestos-related malignancy other than mesothelioma. This disease category has a fixed payment, whether the Claimant is alleging a malignancy or a non-malignancy. |
| Other Cancers (OCA) | Other cancers associated with asbestos exposure include colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer, pharyngeal cancer, and stomach cancer. |
| Paid Claim | The claim settlement check is issued. |
| Partial Payment Paid | The claim has been issued a partial payment and is pending subsequent payments. |
| Payment Authorization | The claim had been issued a payment and is subsequently authorized for additional payment. |
| Payment Percentage | The percentage of the full liquidated value that all present and future claims are likely to receive for both Individual Review and Expedited Review claims, subject to review and recalculation by the Trustees. |
| Pending | A claim that is created online and submitted to the Trust. A pending claim is assigned a claim number and is awaiting review. |
| Pericardium | The membranous sac filled with serous fluid that encloses the heart and the roots of the aorta and other large blood vessels. |
| Peritoneal | The serous membrane that lines the walls of the abdominal cavity and folds inward to enclose the viscera. |
| Personal Representative | The person recognized, through a legal document, statute, or Certificate of Official Capacity, as the representative of the Injured Party or the Injured Party's estate and wrongful death beneficiaries if the Injured Party is deceased. |
| Place in Queue | The field located on the Claim Summary screen in DII Asbestos Trust Online that displays the number of claims ahead of your claim in the Review or Re-Review Queue. From this screen, click on the Place in Queue field, which will provide the average monthly claims being reviewed. Compare this number with the claim's Place in Queue to determine approximately when it may be reviewed. |
| Pleural Disease (BPD) | A non-malignant disease caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers which scars the pleura. |
| Primary Counsel | The lawyer who files asbestos personal injury claims on behalf of his/her client. |
| Pro Se Claimant | An individual who has filed or intends to file an asbestos personal injury claim on his own behalf without representation of counsel. |
| Processed Claim | A claim that has been received by the Trust, assigned a claim number, and is either approved for payment or awaiting more information to meet the Trust's criteria. |
| Qualified Physician | A board-certified physician who practices in the area of internal medicine, radiology, pulmonary or occupational medicine. |
| Ready to Re-Review | The claim is pending re-review based on the Trust's First-In-First-Out (FIFO) order. |
| Ready to Review | The claim is pending initial medical and exposure review. |
| Release | The legal document that gives up or releases all claims against the Trust and the entities that funded the Trust, except for those claims excluded. The release must be signed by the Injured Party or Personal Representative. By signing, the Injured Party or Personal Representative acknowledges that he accepts the Trust’s offer of settlement and releases the Trust from any further responsibility for the claim. After the Trust receives the fully completed and signed release, payment is sent to the attorney or to the claimant directly if the claimant is not represented by an attorney. |
| Release Deficient | The returned release is missing basic information, such as required signatures, and a letter is sent to the Claimant advising of the deficiency. |
| Release Issued | Status of a claim meaning that the release has been mailed to the Claimant for settlement. |
| Release Pending | Status of a claim meaning that the completed release was received but there is a Release Deficiency. The Trust is awaiting the missing information before the release can be processed further. |
| Release Received | Status of a claim meaning that the returned release is pending verification of completeness. |
| Release Verified | The returned release has been verified and processed for payment. |
| Representation Issues | An Injured Party can have only one representative. More than one creates a representation issue and the claim is placed on an Administrative Hold until correct representation is verified. |
| Research | The claim is on hold for administrative research. |
| Review | Status of a claim meaning that the claim is in the review process. |
| Review Complete | The claim has been review completed and approved. |
| Review Deficient | When a claim is missing information that is required by the Trust to confirm it either medically or for exposure, such as an unacceptable diagnosis or no occupation listed. |
| Second Disease Claims | An asbestos-related malignancy that is diagnosed subsequent to receiving payment for a non-malignancy. A new claim form must be filed for a second injury. |
| Significant Occupational Exposure | Employment for a cumulative period for at least five years with a minimum of two years prior to December 31, 1982, in an industry and an occupation in which the Claimant (a) handled raw asbestos fibers on a regular basis; (b) fabricated asbestos-containing products so that the Claimant in the fabrication process was exposed on a regular basis to raw asbestos fibers; (c) altered, repaired or otherwise worked with an asbestos-containing products such that the Claimant was exposed on a regular basis to asbestos fibers; or (d) was employed in an industry and an occupation such that the Claimant worked on a regular basis in close proximity to workers engaged in the activities described in (a), (b) and/or (c). |
| Status | The claim review process that the Trust follows, beginning with Ready to Review and ending with Paid Claim status. |
| Statute of Limitations | To be considered for payment, a claim must satisfy the applicable statute of limitation. To determine the statute applicable to your claim, please review Section 5.1(a)(2) of the Trust Distribution Procedures. |
| Submitted | A claim that is created or updated on the website and then is automatically submitted to the Trust. |
| Summary Deficiency Report | Lists the number of claims with deficiencies selected. |
| Trust Advisory Committee (TAC) | The members of the Asbestos TAC serve in a fiduciary capacity, representing all holders of present Asbestos Unsecured PI Trust Claims. There are 8 attorneys who make up the DII Asbestos Trust TAC. |
| Trust Distribution Procedures | The Trust Distribution Procedures ("TDP") are designed to provide prompt payment to valid Asbestos Personal Injury Claims and provide reasonable assurance that the Trust will value and be in a financial position to pay similar and present Asbestos Injury Claims and Future Asbestos Injury demands in substantially the same manner. |
| Trustees | The Trustees implement and administer the Claims Procedures in accordance with the Trust Agreement. |
| Withdrawn Claim | The claimant has the option to withdraw the claim. |