Asbestos Bankruptcy: Workers Pay Price

When The Stephan Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 26, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, it became the latest entry in a decades-long chronicle of American companies using the bankruptcy system to manage crushing asbestos liabilities. But beneath the legal maneuvering lies a more profound crisis: a workers’ compensation system that has consistently failed those it was designed to protect.