Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Claims of injuries or potential safety issues related to alleged product defects, or quality concerns against our various subsidiaries could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
Our mission, reputation and business success rely on our ability to design and provide safe, high quality and reliable products that earn and maintain customer trust. Our products are often used in high-risk and unpredictable environments, and MSA and its subsidiaries face an inherent business risk of exposure to product liability claims. In the event the parties using our products are injured or any of our products prove to be defective, we could be subject to claims. In addition, we may be required to or may voluntarily recall or redesign certain products or components due to concern about product safety, quality, or reliability. Any significant claims, recalls or field actions that result in significant expense or negative publicity against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, including any successful claim brought against us in excess or outside of available insurance coverage.
Our subsidiaries, including Mine Safety Appliances Company, LLC, may experience losses from product liability claims. Losses from product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, which could introduce volatility from period-to-period in our financial results.
From time to time, product liability claims are made against our various subsidiaries. In most instances the products at issue were manufactured many years ago and are not currently offered for sale, but in some instances, product liability claims may relate to current products.
Our subsidiary, Mine Safety Appliances Company, LLC (“MSA LLC”) was named as a defendant in 1,691 cumulative trauma lawsuits comprised of 4,595 claims at March 31, 2022. Cumulative trauma product liability claims involve exposures to harmful substances (e.g., silica, asbestos and coal dust) that occurred years ago and may have developed over long periods of time into diseases such as silicosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma or coal worker’s pneumoconiosis. A reserve has been established with respect to estimated amounts for cumulative trauma product liability claims currently asserted, as well as, incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) cumulative trauma product liability claims. Because our cumulative trauma product liability risk is subject to inherent uncertainties, and since MSA LLC is largely self-insured, there can be no certainty that MSA LLC may not ultimately incur losses in excess of presently recorded liabilities. Many factors affecting cumulative trauma product liability claims may change over time or as a result of sudden unfavorable events within a single reporting period. Associated losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, or could result in volatility from period to period.
We will adjust the reserve from time to time based on developments in MSA LLC's actual claims experience, the claims environment or other significant changes in the factors underlying the assumptions used in establishing the reserve. Each of these factors may increase or decrease significantly within an individual period depending on, among other things, the timing of claims filings, settlements, or litigation outcomes during a particular period that are especially favorable or unfavorable to MSA LLC. We accordingly consider MSA LLC’s claims experience over multiple periods or whether there are changes in MSA LLC’s claims experience and trends that are likely to continue for a significant time into the future in determining whether to make an adjustment to the reserve, rather than evaluating such factors solely in the short term. Any future adjustments to the reserve may be material and could materially impact future periods in which the reserve is adjusted.
In the normal course of business, MSA LLC makes payments to settle these types of cumulative trauma product liability claims and for related defense costs, and records receivables for the amounts believed to be recoverable under insurance. MSA LLC has recorded insurance receivables totaling $126.4 million and notes receivables of $48.8 million at March 31, 2022. Since MSA LLC is now largely self-insured for cumulative trauma claims, additional amounts recorded as insurance receivables will be limited. Amounts recorded as insurance receivables are based on the amount of future losses presently recorded in the cumulative trauma product liability reserve. These projected future losses are used to calculate contingent reimbursements deemed probably of collection under negotiated Coverage-in-Place Agreements. Reimbursements are calculated based on modeled assumptions, including claims composition, claims characteristics, and timing (each of which are relevant to calculating reimbursement under the terms of Coverage-In-Place Agreements). These factors, and the potential for future insurer insolvencies, could affect the timing and amount of receivables actually collected in any given period or in total.
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