Victory at last for asbestos sufferers in landmark battle for justice
A victory in the High Court for victims of asbestos related disease has removed the contradictions in the arguments of insurance firms and provided fairness for the claimants, say lawyers.
The case stemmed from the refusal of insurers to pay out in mesothelioma claims after the ruling in Bolton MBC v Municipal Mutual Insurance Ltd [2006] All ER (D) 66 (Feb), where it was held that in public liability insurance, the policy was triggered by the development of the disease—an argument insurers claimed should also be applied to employers’ liability claims.
However, in the “Employers’ Liability Policy ‘Trigger’ Litigation”, Mr Justice Burton found that the injury was sustained when it was caused and so the policies should be construed as such.
Peter Taylor, partner in the insurance and reinsurance practice at Lovells, says the ruling is a landmark in the long battle between the UK claimants and their employers’ insurance companies.
“Burton J found that exposure or the ‘date of inhalation’ was the applicable trigger of employers’ liability coverage, as opposed
