Government to act on mesothelioma claims

Published on Thu 20 Jul 2006

The controversy over compensation for mesothelioma sufferers looks set to take yet another turn after Tony Blair promised to take action over a recent House of Lords ruling.

The judgment means that a single employer will not have to pay full compensation if another employer could also be guilty of exposing the same employee to asbestos.

Because the time between exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis of mesothelioma can span decades it is not always possible to prove which company is responsible.

The House of Lords judgment was intended to safeguard employers from having to pay full compensation in cases where another employer could have been held responsible but is no longer operating.

The ruling was met with dismay by the families of mesothelioma sufferers and by the unions and prompted the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to promise action on the new law. He told the GMB Conference,

"I regret that judgment. I'm looking at the moment to see the best opportunity for us to change it."

On the 20 June Lord Falconer, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, and John Hutton, Secretary of State for the Department of Works and Pensions, produced a statement pledging to;

"...bring forward an amendment to the Compensation Bill to provide that in these cases negligent employers should be jointly and severally liable, so that the claimant can recover full compensation from any relevant employer. It would then be open to that employer to seek a contribution to the damages awarded from other negligent employers."