Member Article

Compensation now possible for more asbestos victims

A landmark case has indicated sufferers of mesothelioma caused by incidental exposure to asbestos in their work now have a much better case for compensation, says a North East lawyer who specialises in Industrial Disease and Occupational Injury claims.

John Hall, Managing Partner of Tilly Bailey & Irvine Solicitors, commented that a recent ruling by the Supreme Court will increase the confidence of a successful claim for people who have contracted mesothelioma through their work, despite never working directly with asbestos.

He said: “This ruling widens the interpretation of the Asbestos Industry Regulations so that they apply not only to factories engaged in manufacturing asbestos goods but to all factories and workshops where lagging work was carried out. In addition so far as the Factories Act is concerned the Court made it clear that people who visited a factory as part of their day to day job and were exposed to asbestos, even though they did not directly work with it, could also have grounds for a claim. This means that factory operators not only have a duty of care to their employees but also have a responsibility for the well being of anyone who comes onto their premises.”

Mr Hall’s comments follow a Supreme Court ruling that a cancer victim who had been a lorry driver attending Battersea Power Station should receive compensation even though he was not employed by the Power Station.

Mr Hall added: “This is a welcome ruling which extends the law to ordinary members of the public who came into contact with asbestos and who had not previously been able to rely on the legislation to assist them.”

Tilly Bailey & Irvine Solicitors is the Tees Valley’s largest full service law firm with offices in Hartlepool, Wynyard Park, Stockton on Tees and Barnard Castle.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tilly Bailey and Irvine Solictors .