Many could die without getting a penny in compensation despite suffering the incurable lung cancer mesothelioma, caused by contact with asbestos decades ago.
The insurance industry feared a £30million payout to 200 of the victims and their families pending the outcome of the Appeal Court decision.
But the devastated claimants – supported by the Daily Mirror in a long-running campaign – are now facing pot luck in their legal battle to get compensation.
Last night Alan Ritchie, general secretary of building union UCATT, said: “This decision is disgraceful and perverse. This is not justice. Victims who were needlessly exposed to asbestos will be prevented from claiming. Sadly many will die before the cases can be resolved.”
The Appeal Court ruled in favour of the insurance industry over the “trigger issue” – when a worker was exposed to lethal levels of asbestos or when symptoms of the cancer develop, which can be up to 60 years later. The insurers had seized on a judgment in an unrelated case two years ago which said liability was only “triggered” when the disease actually happened.
The judges backed Mrs Ruth Durham’s claim on behalf of her late father Leslie Screach, a paint sprayer in London in the 160s.
But her lawyer Helen Ashton said: “Without a uniform judgment it remains unclear which victims are entitled to access the justice they deserve. It really is pot luck.”
Mirror UK