The latest attempt to get round the law and deny compensation to workers and their families affected by the deadly illness mesothelioma will be heard by the High Court on the 2nd June 2008.

Mesothelioma is a tumour of the lining of the lung caused by a person’s exposure to asbestos during the course of their employment, often decades before they are diagnosed. 

Joan Eddleston's husband Arthur died of mesothelioma in 1996 as a result of exposure to asbestos at work. Joan took his former employers to Court and won her case. At that time the company went bust and Joan had to start a lengthy search to find the company’s insurers at the time her husband worked there.

She thought the battle was over when she discovered that Independent Insurance Company were the company’s insurers at the time of her husband’s employment.  However, her hopes were dashed once again when they refused to pay a penny.  Arthur’s mesothelioma had not been diagnosed during the time he was employed by the company. They said that as his diagnosis and death, were after the insurance policy had run out, they were not responsible and do not have to pay the compensation awarded. They said Arthur’s death did not trigger their policy.

Before this case, in claims against a former employer, the insurance industry had treated the “trigger event” for insurance cover as the exposure to asbestos.  In practice, this meant that the insurer who provided insurance at the time an employee was exposed to asbestos was the insurer who paid the compensation claims if they went on to develop mesothelioma.

From 1 January 1972 the law says employers must take out insurance to protect their employees from injury or disease.  If the insurers in Joan’s case persuade a Judge that they are correct then the cover which Arthur’s and others employers took out leaves their employees unprotected.

The insurers were happy to pocket large premiums from the company at the time but now refuse cover even though they knew it was a criminal offence for employers not to have adequate cover in place

Joan’s case has serious implications for many mesothelioma sufferers. It is the latest in a long line of attempts by insurance companies to deny justice to mesothelioma victims and their families.

At the moment, the insurance companies refusing to meet compensation claims are Independent, Builders Accident, Excess and Municipal Mutual Insurance, apart from MMI which is in solvent run off, all of these companies are in liquidation.

Carolann Hepworth, specialist solicitor at John Pickering and Partners LLP said:

“If these insurers are successful then solvent insurers intend to make the same argument, which would mean the end to compensation claims for thousands of mesothelioma victims.”

In the meantime, Joan is forced to wait for the Judge to decide whether she will receive the compensation she deserves.  Her children and grandchildren are growing up without their father and grandfather and she is left with financial uncertainty.   Joan is unable to obtain closure following the death of her husband.

Background

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma. Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit. Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.

John Pickering and Partners LLP

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a specialist legal practice that has represented claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."  Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of the victims of asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
www.mesotheliomaadvice.co.uk
FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
www.mesotheliomaadvice.co.uk

Carol Ann Hepworth
Old Exchange Buildings
St Ann's Passage
29/31 King Street
Manchester, M2 6BE
Email: ch@johnpickering.co.uk
Tele: (0161) 834 1251
Fax: 0161 834 1505