Asbestos Appeal Successful
Insurance companies are successful in appeal against asbestos compensation verdict
26th January 2006
Insurance companies are breathing a sigh of relief after a ruling last year which paved the way for thousands of compensation claims was overturned in the Court of Appeal.
In the original case, it was established that an asbestos-related condition known as pleural plaques, or scarring of lung tissue, was often a precursor to more serious illness, and so people who developed the condition after exposure to asbestos could claim compensation.
The appeal court however has ruled that only a small minority of people would then go on to develop asbestos-related disease, and so claims could not be made unless that actually happened.
The decision is thought to have saved the insurance industry around £1bn in compensation payments, although the story isn't yet over, with the appeal court judges saying that given the difficulty of the decision and the large number of cases involve, the matter should go before the House of Lords for a final and definitive ruling.
Read More: BBC : Asbestos claims ruling overturned
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More on Asbestos Compensation : Insurers Win Mesothelioma Appeal (News, 03/05/2006), Court Rules on Asbestos Compensation (News, 16/02/2005), Fast Track for Scottish Mesothelioma Claims (News, 21/03/2003) |
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