Asbestos victims can still recover damages

Asbestos victims can still recover damages where insurers cannot be traced, however, as Tilly Bailey & Irvine’s specialist solicitors can vouch for.

Victims of the fatal asbestos-induced cancer, mesothelioma, who are unable to trace their employers or an employer’s liability insurer, are now able to apply for compensation packages worth on average £123,000 under the government legislation known as the “Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme.”

This means that thousands of victims can now apply for compensation when previously, if an employer or liability insurer could not be traced, they would not have been able to recover any compensation for their injuries.

Symptoms of mesothelioma can take anything up to 40-50 years to present following exposure to asbestos, and as a result hundreds of people every year struggle to locate a relevant party to sue for damages because their former employers have become insolvent and/or insurance records have gone missing.

This has created years of injustice for mesothelioma victims and their families who have had to endure this terrible disease with little hope of recovering any compensation from the insurance industry.

The new scheme allows victims to recover damages when they would not have previously been able to do so if information was not traceable, or no assets were available to settle any damages. The scheme also makes provision for payment of legal costs which means that, in most cases, recovery of damages and costs will result in families receiving all the compensation they deserve.

I have successfully made applications for individuals who suffer from mesothelioma and where the employers that caused their injury either no longer exist, have no assets or the insurers cannot be traced. This has resulted in clients receiving payments in excess of £100,000.

This has meant those suffering from mesothelioma and their families have compensation which can assist in the most difficult of times.

I myself have had more than 30+ years experience dealing with Industrial Disease claims, including mesothelioma, asbestosis and pleural thickening cases.

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, it may be possible to pursue a compensation claim. If you have any queries regarding mesothelioma and/or claiming damages for any asbestos related injury, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit us via York Road, Hartlepool.