Insurers Slammed for Avoiding Asbestos Compensation

jimloxley
July 20, 2012

In the past year or so, asbestos compensation claims have been increasingly appearing in the news. Around 50 years ago, the hazardous material asbestos was commonplace in British industry. Frequently used as a flame retardant in everything from race car suits to electrical cables, many workers such as electricians and mechanics would regularly be exposed to the fine dust which is kicked up by bits of engineering such as the lagging used to surround pipes and wires. The material has since been banned in the UK so it’s likely that one day, asbestos compensation claims will be a thing of the past.

However, we are entering the stage where the fifty-year time frame for the malignant asbestos-related cancer known as mesothelioma to manifest within human body of anyone that was exposed to the material. This is why there’s an increasing number of cases of asbestos poisoning cases coming to light and recently a man who is dying of asbestos poisoning has spoken out as he fights to win his asbestos compensation claim. Ian Hamilton, who is a retired shipbuilder and 70 years of age is one of hundreds of people across the country who are fighting to win compensation for their asbestos exposure. Not all asbestos poisoning claims are mesothelioma and Ian has found out he’s suffering from a less serious lung condition called pleural plaques, and it is said that people suffering from the condition who have failed to take action within three years of diagnosis are unable to make asbestos compensation claims. This is one of the small print points on life insurance policies which cover the illness.

Hamilton has been given a year to live and during an interview with a UK newspaper, he slammed the insurance companies with tears rolling down his cheeks and called upon Kenny MacAskill, the UK’s Justice Secretary to change the law surround asbestos claims. He went on to state that the insurance companies didn’t care about people and that they will use any trick they can to avoid paying out on insurance. He pleaded that the Justice Secretary use his power to close the loophole to allow people in his position to get the compensation they’re owed. Hamilton, who is a former shipyard electrician and is from Paisley, recently spoke out at an asbestos compensation victims conference held in Glasgow. He told other sufferers of his condition and how the insurance company was trying to avoid paying out on asbestos compensation because of a point in the small print. Previous court battles have given sufferers of asbestos poisoning the right to claim up to £7,000 in compensation and it’s being recommended that action is taken as soon as possible if symptoms arise.