01 October 2008 – Faster payments for Mesothelioma sufferers a step closer

Faster payments for all people diagnosed with Diffuse Mesothelioma came a step closer today after the new Mesothelioma Scheme 2008 started to accept claims.

The payment package will provide up-front financial support within six weeks to people who were previously not eligible, including those who were:

• exposed to asbestos from a relative (e.g. from their overalls);
• exposed to asbestos environmentally (e.g. lived near a factory using asbestos);
• self-employed; and
• those who can’t trace their exposure to asbestos.

Currently only people who contract the disease from exposure to asbestos at work are eligible to claim a lump sum from the state.

Health and Safety Minister Lord McKenzie said:

"Mesothelioma causes untold suffering to individuals and families. But people should not have to worry that they or their family will have to wait years before they receive any payment.

“We are committed to ensuring that everyone with mesothelioma can receive the payment they deserve, irrespective of their employment history, and we now expect to be able to make the first payments before the end of the year."

The legislation for lump-sum payments forms part of The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act which received Royal Assent on 5 June 2008.

Notes to Editors

• On 20 July 2006 the Secretary of State announced a number of interim measures to ensure faster compensation for those with mesothelioma, as well as an intention to put in place a long term solution to ensure that those with mesothelioma receive compensation in life.
• A consultation period ran from 4 September to 26 November 2006 and a summary of responses was published on 1 March 2007.
• On 13 March 2007 the Secretary of State announced proposals to provide faster compensation to all people with mesothelioma.
• It will help up to 600 people a year who do not currently receive help from the Government with a payment estimated at £10,000 during the first two years of the operation of the new scheme.
• Payments under the 1979 Act will continue to be made to all those who qualify under that Act and will remain at existing levels.
• The cost of the change will be met by compensation recovery so that payments made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979, and under the 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme, are recovered if a civil damages claim is subsequently successful.

About Mesothelioma

• Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen, and is associated almost exclusively with asbestos; it is invariably fatal, and the time between diagnosis and death is on average about 9 months.
• There is a long ‘lag time’ between exposure to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma; this varies from a minimum of about 10 years upwards, the average interval being in the order of 30-40 years.
• It is also the number one identified cause of occupational death. With about 1800 deaths per year at present, expected to rise to about 2500 when the epidemic peaks between 2010 and 2015, it is the commonest work-related death. Between 2006 and 2020 up to 30,000 people will die of the disease in the UK.
• Cases of mesothelioma in the UK used to occur mainly in people who had worked in ship building and heavy engineering (which used significant amounts of asbestos) and asbestos product manufacturing industries. For this reason, mesothelioma was more common in areas such as Scotland, the North East and Southern England where many of these industries were based.
• An increasing proportion of cases are now being diagnosed in individuals who may have had less intense exposure such as the building industry (carpenters, electricians, demolition workers etc.) and people who have worked in buildings where asbestos construction materials have been used and become disturbed in some way. It is estimated that these now represent the majority of new cases and therefore there is a large number of people who are at risk of the disease who may be unaware of their exposure to asbestos.

 

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