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A TEST case with major implications for asbestos-related cancer sufferers on Merseyside is now under way at the UK’s highest court of appeal. Hundreds of victims of mesothelioma – Britain’s biggest industrial killer – are fighting the latest attempt by insurers to avoid paying compensation. In arguably the most important test case ever heard about mesothelioma claims, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal by the Independent Insurance Company, who have refused to pay a Lancashire woman, Joan Eddleston, the compensation she was awarded by a judge many years ago. Kevin Johnson, Liverpool-based partner at John Pickering and Partners, whose firm is representing Mrs Eddleston, said: “The case is about insurance companies looking for loopholes in the small print of insurance policies to avoid paying compensation to people with asbestos-related cancer. “It could affect many people locally and nationally, both those with current claims and anyone who might develop mesothelioma in the future. “It could save the insurance companies many millions and leave some asbestos victims and their families in a black hole, with no chance of recovering compensation because their employer is out of business and the insurer at the date of exposure is refusing to pay out.” A total of 435 men died from mesothelioma in Merseyside in the 10 years between 1996 and 2005. The Independent Insurance Company have tried to persuade the High Court, then the Court of Appeal and now the Supreme Court, that the wording of the insurance policy they provided does not cover workers exposed to asbestos who later suffer asbestos-related illnesses. Joan Eddleston’s husband, Arthur, died at the age of 58 as a result of his exposure to asbestos. His widow won her claim before the High Court and the Court of Appeal, but the insurers have still refused to pay. Carolann Hepworth, specialist solicitor at John Pickering and Partners, said: “For the last five years, a number of insurers have refused to pay compensation to mesothelioma victims and their families. “Although the insurance companies involved took tens of thousands of pounds in premiums from companies they insured, they decided in 2006 to try to manipulate the words used in the policies issued to defeat these claims. If they are successful, it will leave many mesothelioma victims and their families uncompensated”. Mesothelioma cancer patient resource with questions and answers about Mesothelioma victims take fight for compensation to the Supreme Court, a deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
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