Several high-profile US firms have settled out of court ahead of an asbestos trial which is due to get under way in West Virginia on Tuesday.

The scale of the settlements have not been disclosed, though some payments are rumoured to exceed $250m (�160m).

The settlements have pre-empted a trial which according to some estimates could have resulted in pay-outs of more than $200bn, resulting in the likely bankruptcy of some of the largest companies in the world.

But a smaller trial will go ahead, as ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical are still expected to be among the firms that will fight, said lawyer Paul Hulsey, who will represent some of the victims.

Major players

The prosecution represents 8,000 people who have sued a string of major manufacturers, groups of employers and owners of buildings after suffering exposure to asbestos.

Initially, 259 companies had been sued, though just as the court case is about to kick off it has become apparent that "just a handful, fewer than a dozen, remain", Mr Hulsey said.

The car makers Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are among the major firms that have settled the claims out of court.

Others to have done so include General Electric, 3M, DuPont, Bayer, Shell, as well as Honeywell which on Monday announced that it had settled all claims.

All-in-one

The court on Monday abandoned earlier plans to split the trial in two, hearing cases over exposure from products in one courtroom, and cases relating to exposure on premises in another.

The judges decided to hold the whole trial in one room after they learnt that only two defendants, Dow Chemical and Union Carbide, would defend charges of asbestos exposure on their premises.