The Government today announced the level of compensation payments to be made to victims of the asbestos related disease mesothelioma.
After much debate in the commons an average figure of £123,000 is to be awarded as to each mesothelioma sufferer or their dependents and whose employer’s liability insurer cannot be traced.
Claims against this new scheme will commence in April and compensation will commence in July. Those diagnosed after July 2012 will be eligible. As many as 300 people a year are unable to trace insurers for this fatal industrial disease.
It is thought that claims under this scheme will be 30% less than those where insurers are traced.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of cancer which can develop in either the chest or abdomen. Although it can take up to fifty years from the original exposure for onset once symptoms develop it can progress rapidly and most sufferers die within three years of diagnosis.
Over 2000 people in the UK are diagnosed with the diseases each year and the Department of Work and Pensions estimate the death toll over the next 30 years to be between 56,000 and 63,000.
The total put aside for this scheme by the insurance industry is £380 million. At current levels the scheme will be financially depleted before 2023 and require further investment from an insurance industry which often fights hard to avoid sufferers of this cruel disease the justice and compensation they and their families deserve.
If you require legal advice about mesothelioma or any industrial disease you can discuss the matter in complete confidence with David Hatton.
