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 | | Friday, 17 May, 2002, 07:36 GMT 08:36 UK Insurers play down asbestos ruling  3,000 a year die from asbestos-related diseases Insurance firms have played down reports that they face huge payouts following a court ruling allowing thousands of victims of asbestos-related diseases to claim compensation. The Law Lords overturned a previous Appeal Court ruling that victims could not claim if they had been exposed to asbestos by more than one employer, because they could not prove who was responsible. John Parker of the Association of British Insurers said estimates of payouts totalling �8bn in the coming years were "wildly out of line." "The amount that's paid in mesothelioma [asbestos cancer] claims may be in the region of �150m, �200m a year," he told BBC News. "Before the Court of Appeal originally changed the law that was being paid out every year.
"Insurers have already reserved for all this." Wider implications However, legal experts have warned that the ultimate cost of the ruling could be much higher, as it could establish a legal precedent for other work-related illness claims. Tobacco firms, for example, could be prevented from denying responsibility for cancer, by claiming a victim smoked several different brands. The ABI's Malcolm Tarling said: "Quite clearly the ruling could have wider implications. "We do need to look at the judgement very carefully indeed to see if it has implications across other sectors of the insurance industry." 'Fatal fibre' About 3,000 people each year die from asbestos-related diseases, mainly because of exposure to the deadly dust in the 1960s. The House of Lords considered the appeals of several victims. One case was that of former council worker Eric Fairchild, who died from mesothelioma in 1996, aged 60. He was exposed to substantial quantities of asbestos when he worked for Leeds City Council in the early 1960s, and again six years later when he took up a job with a company at another building in the city. The insurers in his widow's case had argued it was not possible to say where the "fatal fibre" that caused the cancer came from. The Lords ruling means that when a victim has been exposed to asbestos in several different jobs, the compensation will be divided between the insurers of each employer, based on how long the sufferer worked for each firm. It means that 500 other compensation claims that have been held back awaiting the outcome of Thursday's test cases can now go ahead. Cases rising Mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lung or abdomen. It can cause a great deal of pain, and responds poorly to surgery and therapies. The mineral asbestos was widely used in construction and industry in previous decades because of its fire-resistant properties. About 90% of cases occur in people who have experienced "significant exposure" to asbestos. It develops at least 20 years after exposure and many patients die within two to three years of being diagnosed. Numbers contracting the disease are expected to rise until 2020, because of the time-lag between exposure and disease. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Business stories now:  Links to more Business stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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