Supreme Court ruling on asbestos liability welcomed

The British Safety Council has welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling which has rejected insurers’ appeal concerning liability for asbestos exposure.

The Supreme Court in its judgment ruled, “for the purposes of employer liability policies, the negligent exposure of an employee to asbestos during the policy period has a sufficient causal link with subsequently arising mesothelioma to trigger the insurer’s obligations to indemnify the employer.”

Neal Stone, director of policy and communications at the British Safety Council, said: “This is a very important judgment in favour of sensible health and safety and will be welcomed by thousands of workers exposed to asbestos in the course of their work, their employers and others committed to preventing the deadly consequences of work-related diseases.”

In a judgment published on 28 March 2012 the Supremes Court upheld appeals from Unite the union, employers and others concerning the liability of insurers to employers where their employees have contracted mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos.

One of the issues on which the appeal was made to the Supreme Court was when mesothelioma was “sustained” or “contracted” – when the employee was wrongfully exposed to asbestos or when the disease actually occurs in the employee. Trade unions argued that had it not been for the Supreme Court ruling many thousands of workers exposed to mesothelioma with fatal consequences would not be compensated for the loss they, or their families, had suffered.