Work-related diseases court ruling impacts claims

People looking to claim compensation for a number of work-related diseases face a longer wait after the Court of Appeal was unable to reach a final decision on an important asbestos case.

The judges involved in the hearing could not reach an agreement on whether insurers are liable for damages from when the victims were exposed to the substance.

According to insurers, they should only have to pay from when the symptoms of these work-related diseases began.

Lawyers working on behalf of those affected by asbestos and their families had argued any compensation should be back dated to when the original exposure occurred.

A total of 6,000 cases were being examined and although the three judges found that money should be awarded to victims in some of the cases, in others they said the insurers were only liable once symptoms have appeared.

It’s a confusing ruling and the issue is even less clear because the judges also allowed the insurers to appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning the matter is not yet fully resolved.

Helen Ashton, from law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “For many, it will mean delays, more legal uncertainty and more confusion, as the very wording of their employers’ insurance policies would need to be reviewed to see whether they can make a claim or not.”

The issue is still clearly very complicated, but the current legal situation should not deter people who have been exposed to asbestos and now suffer from a work-related disease applying for compensation.
Highly-qualified legal experts are on hand to guide claimants through the process and help ensure they get every penny of any compensation that is owed to them.

Anyone who suffering from work-related diseases should not feel reluctant to make a claim just because of the current legal uncertainty.