Decision due over asbestos illnesses pay-outs

THOUSANDS of Scottish victims of asbestos-related illnesses and their families will hear this week if they have won a long-running court case that could open the way to large compensation pay-outs.

Four insurance companies, including Excess which insured Fairfield shipyard in Glasgow, have been fighting since 2006 to restrict their liability to victims of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

The insurers have been trying to minimise the compensation by claiming that their liability starts when tumours develop, which can be decades after exposure. The lawyers for the victims and their relatives have been arguing the liability should apply from the moment the victims are first exposed to the dust.

It was reported that the Supreme Court would rule against the insurers on Wednesday, leading to an estimated £250 million in compensation pay-outs.

Laura Blane, asbestos expert at Thompsons Solicitors in Glasgow, said yesterday that a ruling against the insurers would be great news for the rights of asbestos sufferers in Scotland.

“It would mean that victims and families who have suffered due to asbestos can get justice they deserve,” she said.

Meanwhile, a survey by the British Lung Foundation has found that twothirds of Scots would not recognise potentially lethal asbestos in their homes.

The survey found that 70% of Scots admitted they could not confidently identify asbestos, with awareness par ticularly low amongst women.