bongme Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 hi This is London 16th May Thursday 2002 Sufferers of asbestos-related diseases will receive compensation after Law Lords ruled in their favour. Bongme I will get more news as soon as it comes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongme Posted May 16, 2002 Author Share Posted May 16, 2002 hi Asbestos Sufferers To Get Compensation Ananova Thursday May 16, 2002 Thousands of sufferers of asbestos-related diseases will receive compensation after a "historic" court decision which could cost insurance companies billions of pounds. Five law lords overturned a Court of Appeal ruling which had denied compensation to victims because they could not prove which of several employers was responsible for their illness. The construction workers' union Ucatt said the judgment will help thousands of sufferers and would teach the insurance industry "a lesson it will never forget". Insurance companies are likely to have to payout up to £8 billion to victims in coming years as a result of the ruling, it has been estimated. Bongme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongme Posted May 16, 2002 Author Share Posted May 16, 2002 hi Landmark judgment on asbestos victims Staff and agencies Thursday May 16, 2002 Thousands of sufferers of asbestos-related diseases will receive compensation after a "historic" law lords decision today which could cost insurance companies billions of pounds. Five law lords overturned a court of appeal ruling which had denied compensation to victims because they could not prove which of several employers was responsible for their illness. The construction workers' union Ucatt said the judgment will help thousands of sufferers and would teach the insurance industry "a lesson it will never forget". Insurance companies are likely to have to payout up to £8bn to victims in coming years as a result of today's ruling, it has been estimated. The judgment, described by one lawyer as the most significant decision in the history of industrial disease compensation, followed a three-day House of Lords hearing involving three test cases by the law lords headed by Lord Bingham. Lawyers for the widows of two victims of mesothelioma and a sufferer had challenged high court and court of appeal rulings that compensation could not be paid in a case where a worker was exposed to the deadly dust by more than one employer. The claims involved Judith Fairchild, from Leeds, widow of Arthur, who died from mesothelioma in 1996; 54-year-old sufferer Edwin Matthews, from Rochester, Kent; and Doreen Fox, the widow of Thomas Fox, from Liverpool. George Brumwell, general secretary of Ucatt, said: "This judgment will help thousands of sufferers from asbestos-related diseases and will teach the insurance industry a lesson it will never forget. "The insurance companies have been shamed by this decision. The ruling is a landmark judgment and will change the lives of hundreds who are suffering and the thousands who will follow them." Judith Fairchild, widow of Arthur, said: "We got the right result, not only for myself but the thousands affected by this terrible disease. My husband deserved to win." Spencer Wood of law firm OH Parsons, which handled cases for Ucatt, said: "The union has secured a significant judgment which will change the lives of thousands of people." Bongme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongme Posted May 16, 2002 Author Share Posted May 16, 2002 hi Asbestos victims win landmark case Thursday, 16 May, 2002 The BBC News Three people affected by asbestos cancer have won a groundbreaking case for compensation in the House of Lords. The Law Lords were examining test cases brought by a man who has mesothelioma - asbestos cancer - and two widows whose husbands died of the disease. They were appealing against previous rulings by the Court of Appeal and the High Court denying them compensation on the basis that they were exposed to the deadly dust by more than one employer. The decision to overturn those rulings paves the way for thousands of similar claims and could leave insurance companies facing a bill of between £6bn and £8bn in the coming years. The Law Lords' took the unusual step of announcing their decision before giving their reasons so that compensation claims which had been on hold could go ahead. The cases centred on the principal of the "fatal fibre". In theory, it is possible that cancer could have been caused by just one speck or fibre of asbestos dust. So, if a worker was exposed to asbestos at more than one company, insurers' lawyers argue it is not possible to say which was the source of the fatal fibre. If the insurers' case had been upheld, it could have affected claims in other work-related diseases cases, and in cases against tobacco companies who could have argued it was uncertain which cigarette had caused lung cancer, for example. Exposure One case considered was that of former council worker which had been considered by previous courts was that of Eric Fairchild, who died from mesothelioma in 1996, aged 60. He was exposed to substantial quantities of asbestos when he worked for Leeds City Council in the early 1960s and again six years later when he took up a job with a company at another building in the city. The Law Lords also heard the cases of Doreen Fox, whose husband died from mesothelioma and Eddy Matthews, who is seriously ill with the cancer. He was awarded £155,000 compensation last July, but his former employers appealed and won, so he has not yet received any of the money. Anthony Coombs from Manchester-based solicitors John Pickering and Partners, who represented Mr Matthews and Mrs Fox: "Hundreds of asbestos cancer victims have been waiting for this result. "They and future victims will be relieved that justice has prevailed." Chris Phillips, head of litigation at Halliwell Landau which acted for the insurance company in Mrs Fairchild's case said: "The House of Lords has today ruled in favour of the appellants in the Fairchild case overturning the previous Court of Appeal decision concerning causation last December. "Clearly we will look at the reasons for the judgment when they are given in a few weeks time." He said Mrs Fairchild's claim was being paid immediately following the Law Lords' decision. The Association of British Insurers said insurers would welcome the clarity provided by the ruling. George Brumwell, leader of the construction workers' union UCATT said the Law Lords' decision to overturn earlier judgements was "an historic victory". He said: "This judgement will help tens of thousands of sufferers from the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma and will teach the insurance industry a lesson it will never forget." 'Significant exposure' Mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lung or abdomen. It can cause a great deal of pain, and responds poorly to surgery and therapies. Around 90% of cases occur in people who have experienced "significant exposure" to asbestos. It develops at least 20 years after exposure and many patients die within two to three years of being diagnosed. At least 2,000 people are diagnosed with the cancer each year, according to the British Thoracic Society - but numbers are expected to rise until 2020, because of the time-lag between exposure and disease. Most victims of illnesses associated with the deadly dust come from areas linked to heavy industries such as shipbuilding and engineering. Bongme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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