Mesothelioma
is a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It is a long-tail disease –
which means people exposed to asbestos decades ago are only now discovering the
consequences of their employers’ ignorance or negligence.
With
people moving in and out of jobs in the industry, and widespread misplacement
of insurance and employment records, many sufferers (approximately one in every
eight) are unable to trace their employer or insurer to lodge a complaint.
Therefore,
I welcomed some new regulations this week that provide for the Secretary of
State to establish a long-overdue scheme for mesothelioma victims and their
families - who, for decades, have been denied access to the compensation they
deserve. This new law originates from a consultation launched by the last
government in February 2010. It follows a long history of Labour interventions
to secure justice for mesothelioma sufferers.
In
1969, the Employers Liability Act, required employers to insure against
liability for injury or disease to their employees arising out of their
employment. The Pneumoconiosis Act in 1979 provided lump sum compensation
payments to people suffering from certain dust-related diseases or, if they
have died, their dependents, where a claim for damages is not possible because
the employer is no longer in business. In 2008, the Mesothelioma Payments
Scheme provided lump sum payments for people suffering from diffuse
mesothelioma, who are unable to claim compensation from other sources - such as
women who washed their husbands’ contaminated clothes, or the self-employed.
This
new law provides a legislative framework to make payments to people with the
disease who are unable to trace their employer or their Employer’s Liability
insurer.
The
Scheme will be industry-funded by a levy on currently active insurers in the UK
Employers’ Liability market. Insurers have said that provided this levy does
not exceed 3% of Gross Written Premiums, they will prevent this additional cost
from being passed onto business.
The
Scheme is intended as a fund of last resort. Claimants who are unable to trace
their employer or their employer’s insurer can apply to the fund. I’m
especially pleased that, after all-party pressure, successful applicants will
receive 80% of the average compensation of claimants of the same age who have
pursued successful civil compensation claims.
I
hope that claims can now be progressed and settled quickly.
