The insurance industry is expected to save millions of pounds in claims costs, after a landmark House of Lords ruling on the entitlement of asbestosis victims to claim compensation.
The House of Lords ruled that liability to abestosis sufferers could be split between several employers, thus the liability of each one - and its insurer - would be reduced. Periods of self employment should also be taken into account.
In the test case before the Lords, Corvus was attempting to limit the amount of compensation it pays Sylvia Barker, whose husband Vernon died from mesothelioma. His widow was initially awarded £152,000.
Corvus took the case to the Lords because it argues that Mr Barker was exposed to asbestos for a period when he was self employed as well as a spell on the payroll, and so its liability should be reduced.
However, Ian McFall, head of asbestos litigation for Thompsons Solicitors, said the result was an ‘injustice' and said: “The real winner here is the insurance industry which now stands to save billions of pounds”.
Kieron West, partner with insurance law firm Kennedys said: “There was culpability on the part of Mr Barker who had allowed himself to be exposed to asbestos during the period he was self employed. There would appear to be some logic in the defendants' argument.”
