Last updated at 12:18, Saturday, 22 November 2008

FURNESS mesothelioma campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s High Court ruling that insurance companies must not avoid their liabilities to victims of asbestos.

CORRECT DECISION: Bob Pointer

In a landmark test case the union Unite has successfully defended the rights of asbestos victims from insurers’ attempts to avoid paying out.

Barrow has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in men in England due to the large numbers employed in the shipyards and the heavy engineering industry.

Unite resisted a legal challenge by insurance companies which, if successful, could have deprived thousands of mesothelioma sufferers and their families of compensation.

The High Court ruled that Employers’ Liability insurers remain liable to pay compensation for mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace if they insured the employer at the time the asbestos exposure occurred. The important decision comes after a nine-week court battle in June and July 2008.

Norma Rumney’s husband Ronald died last year after a three-week fight against mesothelioma.

Mr Rumney, who was 71 when he died, had worked at Sellafield for 50 years, and was devastated when he was diagnosed with the cancer.

Mrs Rumney, of Windrigg Close, Egremont, said: “It is a horrible death and the government don’t fund any research into mesothelioma at all.

“I do feel quite strongly that the government should be looking into funding a cure.

“My husband only lived for 25 days after being diagnosed. He was devastated when he found out but it was a blessing he didn’t have to suffer for long.

“I am pleased for the people who are suffering from this cancer that this decision has been made but I fear there will be many more cases coming out, as people from that generation get older.

“A lot of my husband’s colleagues at Sellafield are now being diagnosed with mesothelioma and the attitude of the government has been downright negligent.”

Bob Pointer, of Barrow Trades’ Council and Barrow Asbestos Related Diseases Support, said: “The High Court made the correct decision. The efforts of the insurers to evade their responsibilities to both employee and to the employer who legally has to have employers liability insurance is immoral.

“For too long have judgements have gone against those who were exposed to asbestos.

“The fight for justice and prevention, re mesothelioma and other asbestos related disease, is still relevant with the yearly rise in new carcinogens, which are continually emerging causing an increase in occupational cancers. With the rise in concern of nanotechnology and its similarity in its fibres we must learn from the tragedy of asbestos.”

Unite Joint General Secretary, Derek Simpson, said: “This is a hugely important victory for the victims of the deadly dust and for their families. Having to suffer or watch your relatives suffer from a slow and painful death is horrific.

“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.

“We are prepared to take on the big cases and fight for our members’ rights to justice.We are delighted the High Court has protected the right of mesothelioma sufferers to obtain compensation from insurers. This decision illustrates the role and importance of Unite.

“Without trade unions many of these cases would never have been fought. Unite has been at the forefront of the legal and political campaign to win compensation for the victims.”

In what has become known as the mesothelioma “trigger issue” test case, a number of insurers argued the policies they sold, to insure employers against liability for 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.

Often the time lapse between exposure to the deadly dust and the development of mesothelioma can be 40 years or more.

If the insurance companies’ defence had been successful it could have deprived thousands of asbestos victims their right to compensation.

l How are you affected by the ruling? Email news@nwemail.co.uk

First published at 11:46, Saturday, 22 November 2008
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk