Asbestos compensation must be paid, says High Court

Thousands of asbestos cancer sufferers have had compensation payments safeguarded after the High Court ruled against insurance companies. which were disputing whether they were liable.

The hearing hinged on which policy was key: the one at the time of exposure or when a worker becomes ill. Insurance companies argued that the policy in place at the time the cancer develops was the one that a compensation claim should be brought against rather than the policy that was in place when the worker was employed by the firm.

They said this was common-sense as victims could have worked for several employers where they were exposed to asbestos.

However, the High Court ruled that Employers' Liability insurers remain liable to pay compensation for mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace if they insured the employer at the time the asbestos exposure occurred. 

The ruling has been welcomed by campaigners and unions and is being hailed as a landmark decision. The Unite union led a successful defence on behalf of the family of a former steel erector against a legal challenge by insurance companies that could have made it harder for mesothelioma sufferers to claim compensation. 

Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson says: 

“Thousands of men and women across the UK have been negligently exposed to asbestos by their employers but insurers have tried and failed to use legal technicalities to escape their responsibility to pay compensation under the policies they sold to employers." 

Exposure to asbestos is hazardous to health. The three main conditions – asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma – can all be fatal. Current HSE estimates put the death rate in the UK from asbestos-induced diseases at almost 4,000 a year and likely to increase until 2015 or later.  

Workers in the maintenance and construction trades comprise the largest group of people contracting the diseases, rather than those who worked in the old asbestos manufacturing and installation industry.

According to Workplace Law Network’s asbestos factsheet these are the key points employers should be aware of: 

• The use of asbestos in buildings and construction materials is now completely prohibited. Building owners and those in control of non-domestic premises have a duty to manage the asbestos-containing materials (ACM) within their buildings by formulating an asbestos management plan.
• This will involve identifying whether buildings have ACM, assessing the risk from each occurrence and having a process to manage the ACM. In addition, any work on ACM or work that is likely to disturb ACM is regulated by the need for additional risk assessments prior to work taking place, control measures to prevent the spread of asbestos and evidence of training and competency.
• Depending on risk, work on some ACM may be restricted to HSE-licensed companies who must follow a notification procedure and carry out the work inside segregated work areas using specially trained operatives who undergo medical surveillance.