People who get a mesothelioma because they worked with asbestos in the past may be able to get compensation in two ways: either through benefits paid by the government or by suing the employer, in the job where they were exposed to asbestos. 

This answer deals with getting compensation from employers.

Anyone who is diagnosed as has having a mesothelioma and has worked somewhere where they have been exposed to asbestos in the past should consider getting legal advice, from a solicitor, to see if they can bring a common law claim for compensation from their employer at the time.

In order for the claim to be successful the person would have to show that:

..... it is likely that their mesothelioma is due to exposure to asbestos during the course of their work.  This may be difficult to prove, so the legal phrase is that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ the exposure caused the condition.  This means that although it cannot be certain that the particular job was the cause of the mesothelioma it is more likely than not.

• the employer at the time was negligent (careless) in not keeping up the standards required by common law.
• it may be possible to sue the employer for specific offences against  health and safety regulations.

If a previous employer has gone out of business it may be possible to claim against their insurers, if they are still providing cover for the firm’s liabilities.

Claims must be started within three years of the first ‘date of knowledge’ of any injury due to asbestos.   This does not mean three years from the time of asbestos exposure, but three years from when an asbestos-related illness was first discovered.

In May 2002 the House of Lords made an important ruling for claimants seeking compensation for asbestos exposure.  An earlier ruling had said compensation could only be paid if the exposure to asbestos had been with one employer.  This meant that someone who had worked in two or more jobs where they had been exposed to asbestos could not make a claim (because it could not be certain which job had caused the disease).  The Law Lords overturned this judgement, thereby allowing people who had worked for different firms, where they had been exposed to asbestos, to still make a claim.

Sometimes someone may think they have a claim but the previous employer has gone out of business and their insurer no longer provides cover.  In these circumstances it may be possible to get compensation from the government under the Pneumoconiosis etc (worker’s compensation act of parliament of 1979. If the claim is successful then it provides a lump sum of cash rather than the more usual government benefits of a regular allowance. The conditions that have to be met for a claim to be considered are:

• that disablement benefit for mesothelioma is being paid to the person making the claim
• that the previous employer who was responsible for the asbestos exposure is no longer in business
• that the person making the claim has not made a previous claim against that employer that was either settled or disallowed because there was not enough evidence to support the claim.

If your father does consider making a claim then there are two organisations that might help him to get more information.  These are:

• The Occupational Disease and Environmental Association (OEDA), Mitre House, Abbey Road, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 2QH, telephone 0181 360 8490.
• The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), telephone 0115 958 0585 (in Scotland, SALARC, telephone 0141 552 3366).

When contacting solicitors (because mesothelioma claims are quite a specialised area) it is always a good idea to ask how many similar cases they have handled, how many of these have actually come to court and what sort of time it takes for cases to be handled.