17 octobre, 2007 18:49
Asbestos victims lose compensation fight
LONDON (Reuters) - Victims of the early effects of exposure to asbestos lost a landmark compensation claim in the British House of Lords on Wednesday.
The five law lords decided unanimously that sufferers of so-called pleural plaques are not entitled to compensation, effectively blocking potential multi-million pound insurance claims for damages.
Pleural plaques on the lungs can be a forerunner to diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.
In the leading judgment, Lord Justice Hoffmann said that proof of damage was an essential element in a claim of negligence.
"In my opinion, the symptomless plaques are not compensatable damage," he added.
"Neither do the risk of future illness nor anxiety about the possibility of that risk materializing amount to damage for the purpose of creating a cause of action."
The claims were brought by four victims and centered on whether the plaques can be viewed in themselves as an injury for which damages can be claimed, and on the fear of possibly contracting full-blown asbestos diseases.
When the case went to the British High Court in March 2005, a judge found that the plaques did indeed gave rise to a claim for damages.
However, that decision was overturned at the Appeal Court after a challenge from the employers involved.
The Appeal Court judges ruled that those suffering from pleural plaques had no automatic right to sue, even where the condition had been caused by negligence.
It is that decision that has now been upheld by the law lords.
They backed the view that employer negligence which produced a physiological change that was neither visible nor symptomatic and which in no way impaired bodily functions, should not attract legal liability for compensation.
