What to expect in 2020? Good question for which, unfortunately, there is no clear or good answer. The final deadline to file a disease claim or for expedited release payment was June 3, 2019. So, at this point, the Settlement Facility should know and have “their world”…who is seeking awards and how much…defined. There is no word on the status or decisions regarding Premium Payments. No time lines. No projections. So, what’s a person to do?
These are but a few suggestions. I would hope that everyone who remains involved in this class action and the Dow Corning Settlement Plan, from the claimants to attorneys to the Settlement Facility, to the Court and even Dow Corning, share the same beliefs and commitments. It is time to move this process along and bring this to a conclusion. The purpose of this Plan was to resolve and bring some relief to the claimants. That this process needs to be administered, as the former administrator David Austern stated at a presentation in Texas many years ago, in such a way to be “claimant friendly” and for the benefit of the claimants. And that continued delays…any delays…diminish the value of this Plan for claimants.
- First and foremost, make sure the Settlement Facility, and your attorney if represented, has your current contact information. Same advice to attorneys representing claimants.
- Claimants review your present status: are you waiting on a decision on a claim from the Settlement Facility; are you eligible for and waiting for Premium Payments; are you facing a deadline to attempt to cure a deficiency set out in a Notification of Status Letter by the Settlement Facility on a claim, etc?
- Claimants with filed claims pending or who remain eligible for Premium Payments should consider providing a spouse, adult child or other trusted relative or friend, information about a pending claim and who to contact should you, for whatever reason, are not able. If represented by an attorney, provide your attorney with additional contacts.
- If you are the spouse, child or other heir of a claimant who is now deceased who may still have claims pending, you should contact the Settlement Facility or attorney to determine what steps need be taken to follow through on that claim which would survive the claimant’s death.
- And again, make sure the Settlement Facility, and your attorney if represented, has the correct and current contact information.
These are but a few suggestions. I would hope that everyone who remains involved in this class action and the Dow Corning Settlement Plan, from the claimants to attorneys to the Settlement Facility, to the Court and even Dow Corning, share the same beliefs and commitments. It is time to move this process along and bring this to a conclusion. The purpose of this Plan was to resolve and bring some relief to the claimants. That this process needs to be administered, as the former administrator David Austern stated at a presentation in Texas many years ago, in such a way to be “claimant friendly” and for the benefit of the claimants. And that continued delays…any delays…diminish the value of this Plan for claimants.
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