Union Victory Over Asbestos Payouts

A union-backed legal case has successfully defended the rights of asbestos victims from an insurance industry attempt to evade liability.

The High Court last week ruled that employers' liability insurers remain liable to pay compensation for mesothelioma caused by workplace exposure to asbestos if they insured the employer at the time the asbestos exposure occurred. In what has become known as the mesothelioma 'trigger issue' test case a number of insurers argued the policies they sold, to provide cover against compensation claims from workers who were injured or suffered illness due to work, were 'triggered' by the development of the disease rather than by the exposure to asbestos.

The decision comes after a nine-week court battle in June and July 2008.

Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: "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. They sought to avoid their liabilities while pocketing the money. Without trade unions many of these cases would never have been fought."

Head of Asbestos Policy at Thompsons Solicitors, Ian McFall said: "The court had to grapple with many difficult and complex legal issues in this important test case to decide the true meaning and effect of the insurance policies. The outcome is a great relief for many asbestos victims and their families and a victory for fairness, justice and common sense."

Source: Thompson Solicitors / Risks

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