Families of workers killed by the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma are less likely to receive compensation following a ruling by the law lords yesterday.


In a previous decision four years ago, the law lords held that a former employee suffering from the disease, who had been exposed to significant amounts of asbestos dust by different employers, could sue any one of them without trying to prove which exposure caused the cancer, which is regarded as medically impossible.


But the House of Lords ruled by a majority of four to one that a company's liability to pay compensation should be on a percentage basis to reflect the extent to which it contributed to a worker's exposure to asbestos.


The judgment means that damages may have to be apportioned between several former employers or their insurers, reducing the chance that a sufferer's family will receive full compensation. It will affect claims running into millions of pounds.


The leading test case concerned Sylvia Barker, 58, of Holywell, Flintshire, who was awarded £152,000 in the High Court three years ago for the death of her husband, Vernon. Mrs Barker's damages will now be reassessed by the High Court.


Kieron West, a partner at the City law firm Kennedys, said: "

This decision will be welcomed across the insurance community, since it is both logical and just."

Source: The Telegraph