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Insurers pull the trigger on asbestos cases
Friday sees the High Court in London announce its decision on the latest round by the insurers to escape compensating sufferers of asbestos related diseases.
In the so called ‘Trigger Case” the insurers have argued that in cases of mesothelioma, a fatal tumour of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos, the insurers that should pay compensation are those on risk at the time the disease develops rather than those on risk when the deadly dust was inhaled by the sufferer.
As it often takes some 40 years after exposure for the disease to develop most companies will have gone out of business and as a result there will have been no insurer at the time the disease starts to develop.
Traditionally it has always been the insurer at the time that the exposure occurred who paid compensation.
If successful the insurance industry stands to save millions of pounds at the expense of thousands of sufferers of mesothelioma who will go uncompensated.
The trial lasted 9 weeks and ended on 31st July. During the trial the court had to consider very complex legal, medical and insurance arguments and heard evidence from leading experts in the field of medicine and insurance law.
This decision has wide reaching implications and could spell a disaster for the thousand of sufferers of mesothelioma and those who are yet to develop the disease.
WE Solicitors LLP is a specialist legal practice that has represented many victims of asbestos related diseases as well as many other diseases caused in the workplace.
If you need advice about an asbestos related disease, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.