Compensation breakthrough for asbestos victims

Victims of an aggressive cancer caused by occupational exposure to asbestos who cannot trace a liable employer or insurer could be entitled to 75% of the average settlement paid out in civil actions, if the Mesothelioma Bill , currently going through Parliament, is passed.

Under the Bill, mesothelioma sufferers, who exhibit symptoms some 40 to 50 years after exposure to the now-banned material and who have an average life expectancy of just seven to nine months following diagnosis, may be eligible to receive damages from the proposed £350m fund.

Claimants diagnosed with the disease after 25 July 2012 who have been negligently exposed in the workplace, and can prove they are unable to track down a liable employer or insurer, may be able to apply for a share of the fund, which is estimated to result in a payment of £155,000 to the victim and their dependants, before benefit recovery.

This represents a marked improvement on two previous pieces of legislation, which enabled victims to claim damages of sums which generally didn’t exceed £20,000.

The aim of this new Bill is to reduce the time taken for victims to claim compensation, due to the terminal nature of the disease, coupled with the fact that some insurers have failed to keep adequate records of employer’s liability.

The disease, which kills approximately 2,200 people a year, is expected to claim the lives of up to 63,000 people in total, with numbers increasing over the next 30 years.

It is hoped the first payment to victims will be made in July 2014, with 900 people expected to qualify for compensation next year.

The scheme is set to be funded by a levy on employer’s liability insurers following an industry consultation.

In October last year, the Government concluded a consultation on proposals intended to improve the speed and efficacy of the process for claimants where a traceable employer or insurer could be found from whom to recover compensation.