Proposals to speed up mesothelioma compensation announced

Published on 29 Mar 2007

John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has announced plans to speed up the payment of compensation to all mesothelioma victims.

Last year Treasury secretary Ed Balls announced plans to speed up compensation for people who contracted mesothelioma at work, but there has been a steady rise in people who developed the fatal disease through secondary contact with asbestos.

Recent high profile cases, such as that of Debbie Brewer, have highlighted the problem of people who contract the disease through contact with family members who work with asbestos or by living close to asbestos factories.

The proposed legislation would break the link between work and mesothelioma compensation and allow people to receive a payment within six weeks of a claim being made. Currently state compensation is not recovered from employers that have been found liable of exposing workers to asbestos. This means that companies can deduct their payments from the total compensation that has is paid. The new plans allow the government to recover money from employers that have been found liable and this recovered money will then be used as a fund for victims of who contracted mesothelioma through secondary exposure.