Mesothelioma victims will receive 'watered-down justice' from bill - APIL

The Mesothelioma Bill, which is now set to go before the House of Lords, does not go far enough to help victims of the disease, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has said.

This bill has completed all its stages in the House of Commons and will now return to the House of Lords for consideration of amendments.

Ministers approved plans this week to pay compensation to mesothelioma sufferers who are unable to make a legal claim because the insurers of the employers who exposed them to asbestos cannot be traced.

Under the scheme, mesothelioma victims will receive 75% of the average compensation payout.

APIL president Matthew Stockwell hailed the scheme as a valuable first step in helping people with work-related diseases who cannot claim compensation because insurance records cannot be traced, but added it needed to go further.

“It is bad enough that victims are exposed to deadly asbestos just by turning up for work, then forced to use this scheme because insurance records are no longer around.

“Now they are to be penalised by losing a quarter of what the courts determine is fair redress. This is not the justice these people deserve.

“Help for mesothelioma victims in any form is crucial, and this scheme is at least a start. We will push the government to keep going and work to ensure full justice is available to all those who need it.”