Ground-breaking asbestos compensation claims confirmed by UK’s highest court
10 I 03 I 11
Two families from Merseyside have
had their claims for compensation upheld after relatives contracted
the cancer mesothelioma following exposure to “low level”
asbestos.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour
of the families who had carried on the fight for compensation.
Diane Willmore was exposed to
asbestos while a school pupil. She died in October 2009, the day
after the Court of Appeal upheld the award made against Knowsley
Council for negligently exposing her to asbestos fibres. This award
was frozen while the authority appealed against the decision.
Article: The asbestos threat in our
schools is enough being done (August 2009).
Enid Costello contracted
mesothelioma and died in January 2006. She was said to have
breathed in dust containing asbestos when she was a secretary at a
packaging factory in Ellesmere Port. Her daughter won the right to
compensation from her former employer Greif (UK) Ltd.
The Court of Appeal had ruled compensation should be paid in both
cases, but Knowsley Council and Greif fought the rulings in the
Supreme Court.
The council and Greif had argued
they could only be held liable if it could be proved they were
responsible for causing exposure to asbestos that had at least
"doubled the risk" of mesothelioma.
But the seven Supreme Court
justices unanimously rejected the argument, ruling there was no
requirement for a claimant to show a doubling of risk affirming
previous court decisions that mesothelioma cases were subject to
special rules of causation.
Whether exposure was too
insignificant to be taken into account was a matter for the trial
judge on the facts of each particular case, they ruled.
Cenric Clement-Evans, partner at
Hugh James and an expert in asbestos related illness claims said:
“This is very welcome news, after a very long wait, for
mesothelioma sufferers and their families. Speedy resolution of
these cases is essential and the Supreme Court’s decision removes
another obstacle to providing justice to those families devastated
by this horrendous disease. ”
Hugh James solicitors, a leading UK
law firm, have developed a unique service on behalf of those who
have been diagnosed as suffering from an asbestos related illness
or disease. The Hugh James asbestos compensation team provides a
range of support and assistance to our clients and their families
in addition to our specialist compensation claims service.