ASBESTOS victims fighting for compensation could lose out because of planned changes to legal aid, a conference was told.
Speakers at the Asbestos and the Law conference, held in Liverpool, expressed concerns that the reforms would lead to injured victims losing out on compensation and potentially being unable to bring claims.
Under the present system, claimants can take out an insurance policy to protect themselves in case they lose their claim and are liable to pay legal costs. However, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill – now making its way through Parliament – proposes that the cost of these insurance policies will no longer be recoverable by the claimant from the defendant, as part of the legal costs if the claim is successful.
The conference was told claimants would be put off from bringing claims because they cannot afford the insurance premium to protect them from the possibility of paying the defendant’s large legal bill if their case is lost.
Lawyers who specialise in bringing claims on behalf of asbestos sufferers believe that the Bill will create massive uncertainty and destroy the current protection that injured parties have when bringing claims.
Kevin Johnson, a Liverpool-based solicitor from John Pickering and Partners, and one of the co-organisers of the conference, said: “The Bill will hurt people with asbestos-related cancers and other illnesses.
“They will lose out on compensation and may be too worried about paying the defendant’s legal costs if they lose to ever make a claim. The Bill will save the insurance industry untold millions and deprive just compensation to asbestos victims with terminal illness who were exposed to asbestos by negligent employers through no fault of their own.”
John Flanagan, training and information officer from Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group (MAVSG) said: “We have recently contacted all our local MPs to convey the real worries of victims with the terminal asbestos related condition mesothelioma. Their main concern if the Government implements their plans is what impact this will have for future victims. The responsibility will swing from the insurance industry and employers on to victims when making a claim for the meagre compensation they are entitled to. To ask innocent and terminally ill workers to pay for the justice they so rightly deserve is an affront to modern society.”
