Mesothelioma scheme comes under attack

Construction union UCATT has accused the coalition government of being in the pocket of the insurance industry, as watered-down plans for compensating mesothelioma sufferers were revealed.

Last month’s Queen’s Speech introduced the Mesothelioma Bill which will see sufferers of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma receive compensation where no liable employer or insurer can be traced.

Around 3,500 mesothelioma victims across the UK who are unable to claim compensation because they cannot trace a liable employer, or employers’ liability insurer, will be eligible to receive around £355 million in payments in the first 10 years of the scheme, which is set to be in operation from July 2014. However, only victims diagnosed after July 2012 will receive compensation.

Disgracefully, victims of asbestos-related lung cancer and other fatal conditions who cannot trace their insurer will receive nothing.

In a further watering down of the original proposals, there will be banded payments based solely on the age of the victim. The victim will receive 70% of the average compensation payout for an asbestos victim of a similar age.

UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy said: “For decades governments and employers knew the risks but chose to do nothing. It is disgraceful that even now they are trying wherever possible to deny workers compensation.”

He added that the watered down scheme, “which denies compensation to many victims” while slashing compensation to those who qualify, demonstrates that the Tories “are in the pocket of the insurance industry”.