CASE STUDY 1
Mr G lived in Bradford and worked as a fitter
in a factory.
During the early 1970s Mr G did maintenance work on
machinery whilst the factory was on shut down, and he
breathed in asbestos dust that was in the machinery.
The factory owners did not warn Mr G of the health
risks of asbestos or provide him with protective
breathing equipment. Mr G unfortunately developed
mesothelioma some 30 years after
inhaling the asbestos and the disease proved fatal.
The widow of Mr G pursued a compensation claim under
the Law Reform (Misc.Prov) Act 1934 and the Fatal
Accidents Act 1976. The employer’s liability insurers
of the factory paid Mr G’s widow compensation of
£120,000.
CASE STUDY 2
Mr Y lived in Devon and worked as a joiner for a
company that constructed new homes. Throughout the
1950s and 1960s Mr Y worked with materials such as
sheets and boards that contained asbestos.
Mr Y spent a lot of his time working outside, however
some 40 years later was diagnosed with
asbestosis caused by
breathing in asbestos dust. Fortunately, the
employers liability insurers were traced and identified
and Mr Y was paid more than £35000 damages by the
insurers of the construction company.
In the event that it is not possible to trace the
company that employed the person at the time when he or
she was exposed to asbestos and the employers liability
insurers cannot be identified, it may be possible to
apply to the Department for Work and Pensions for an
award of compensation under the Pneumoconiosis etc
(Workers Compensation) Act 1979.
The benefit is dealt with by Jobcentre Plus. There
are eligibility conditions to be satisfied before a lump
sum award can be made. The scheme under the 1979 Act
applies to the asbestos diseases mesothelioma,
lung cancer with
asbestosis or
pleural thickening and diffuse pleural thickening.
There is a Freephone helpline at the DWP 0800 279 2322.
In Rothwell v Chemical and Insulating Company Limited
2007 the House of Lords decided that in cases where
someone during the course of their employment has been
negligently exposed to asbestos dust and as a result has
developed pleural plaques that do not cause symptoms
then no compensation is to be awarded. Pleural plaques
are areas of fibrous thickening of the membrane which
surrounds the lungs.
It is exceptional for pleural plaques to cause
symptoms. Pleural plaques do not progress to
asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma. They are
simply a ‘marker’ that the person may well have been
exposed to asbestos dust, but in themselves the pleural
plaques are extremely unlikely to cause symptoms such as
breathlessness. Consequently, the House of Lords held
that pleural plaques are not an actionable injury for
which someone can claim compensation. Compensation Act
2006 changed the law following the House of Lord’s
decision in Barker v Corus UK plc.
The Act provides that in those
compensation
claims where the asbestos victim was negligently or
in breach of statutory duty exposed to asbestos dust by
more than one company or person and as a result has
contracted mesothelioma, the asbestos victim does not
have to successfully pursue their
mesothelioma
claim against all of the companies that negligently
exposed him to asbestos dust in order to recover all of
the compensation to which he or she is entitled. F
or example, if one of the companies that negligently
exposed him to asbestos is no longer in existence and
its insurers cannot be traced, then a claim does not
have to be made against this company and the
compensation award will not as a result be reduced.
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