Landmark asbestosis ruling
The Court of Appeal has ruled that asbestosis sufferers could be entitled to compensation from negligent employers.
After a landmark ruling this week, those suffering from asbestosis, caused by exposure to asbestos, could be entitled to compensation based on the number of years worked.
The ruling is connected to 87 year old retired electrician, Albert Carder, who was exposed to asbestos at the University of Exeter, where he worked in the 1980’s. His lawyers calculated that while exposure had also occurred earlier in his career, the University had contributed 2.3 per cent towards his asbestosis.
The University’s insurers argued that the exposure had made “no discernible difference to his condition”.
The High Court ruling found that the injury and damage was actionable, stating that a case had been proven against the University despite the small contribution.
On appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.
Mr Carder’s overall damages from his total exposure to asbestos were assessed at £67,500, with the University’s contribution confirmed at £1,713.
Mr Carder was unable to pursue his other employers as they were uninsured and cannot make a claim under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, which was introduced to help people where an insurer or employer could not be traced, because it does not cover asbestosis.
John Hedley, Mr Carder’s lawyer said “This case has broader significance and could impact on a large number of other industrial disease and work related illness cases. The Defendant is trying to appeal again, following the Court of Appeal’s decision, so we would assume that the insurers believe the issue is important enough to invest significant sums in legal costs trying to win”
“There is no way of estimating the total number of cases that could be affected, but it is reasonable to assume that it must be substantial”
Victims of asbestosis will be given a boost by the ruling that a sufferer could be entitled to damages from a defendant even if its contribution to their disease is very small.
Source: FM world Plymouth Herald