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Decision awaited following asbestos test cases

20 August 2008

Following a nine-week High Court battle, a decision is awaited to determine whether insurers are liable to pay compensation to the victims of asbestos related disease from when they became ill or from when the exposure occurred.

Several insurers who provided employer’s liability insurance to companies who negligently exposed their employees to dangerous levels of asbestos are arguing that the ‘trigger’ for payment of the claim should not be when the exposure to the asbestos occurred, but when the disease developed. 

These insurers provided cover at the time the exposure occurred and have settled many claims on this basis in the past. However, they are now arguing that because they were not insuring the company when the victims became ill they should not pay.

As asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma can take anywhere between 25 and 40 years to develop, the victim may become ill many years after the original exposure occurred.

Many of these companies have now gone out of business, and if the High Court agrees with the insurers’ argument, those suffering from an asbestos related disease would not recover any compensation despite the fact there was insurance in place when they were exposed to asbestos.

The case represents yet another legal battle for asbestos suffers and a decision is expected in the autumn.

If you or a family member have been affected by this issue, or would like further information, please contact Sara Hunt on 08700864221 or at sara.hunt@shoosmiths.co.uk

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Sara Hunt

Associate
T: 08700 86 4221
I: +44 (0)121 625 4221
E: sara.hunt@shoosmiths.co.uk