Lawson-West, solicitors, welcome the support of David Miliband, Foreign Secretary and MP for South Shields for the creation of an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau.
The aim behind an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau is to enable employees who suffer industrial illnesses such as mesothelioma, which may not develop until many years after negligent exposure to asbestos, to claim compensation where employers had ceased trading and their insurance cannot be traced. In 1999 members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) agreed to hold information on employer liability policies for 60 years in a database. A Department of Work and Pensions review of the scheme in 2007 revealed that this voluntary database does not help to trace insurers in most cases.
An Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau would provide a last-resort in cases where an insurer cannot be traced, offering protection similar to the Motor Insurance Bureau who process accident compensation claims where the driver who caused the accident is either uninsured or not traced. Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. However, it take can 20 years or more to develop and, once diagnosed, victims may not have long to live. A database of insurers would help identify and speed up compensation claims. However, where insurers cannot be traced, at present, mesothelioma victims and their families are left unable to claim compensation.
If you have developed an industrial illness as a result of negligent exposure to asbestos, please ring Elizabeth Lawrenson on 0116 212 1000 for a free initial consultation now, complete one of the on-line forms or text ‘accident’ to 07802 825520 and we’ll call you back.
