Asbestos claimants face extra hurdle

Lords decision limits defenders' liability to percentage basis

News, 5 May 2006

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A campaign may be mounted for separate legislation for Scotland after a House of Lords judgment dealt a blow to victims of asbestos-related diseases and their families.

In three test appeals from the English courts, the Lords supported the defendants' insurers who argued that in cases involving several employers, none of whom could specifically be blamed, each should be found liable only on a percentage basis to reflect the extent of their contribution to the claimant's exposure.

Claimants' representatives say this will make it harder to win full compensation if employers were uninsured or cannot now be traced. Cases commonly relate to asbestos exposure that took place 40 or 50 years ago.

The Scottish judge Lord Rodger of Earlsferry dissented from the ruling on the basis that it was a principle of Scots law that liability could not be apportioned.

The legal firms acting for the claimants are now considering whether to call on the Scottish Parliament to act to restate this principle for Scottish cases.

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