When will asbestos compensation claims become a thing of the past?

AtriumLegal
March 7, 2013

During the 20^th century asbestos was named as the wonder material. It was used mainly in the building trade owed to its near immunity to extreme temperatures. However a number of chronic and potentially fatal illnesses were soon linked to exposure to asbestos. As such the number of asbestos compensation claims have increased substantially over the last few decades!

The use and import of asbestos has now been prohibited across a number of countries however the majority of asbestos related illnesses have lengthy latency periods meaning that they can take over 15 years to manifest and the majority of symptoms appearing on average a whole 32 years after initial exposure. Experts believe that prolonged exposure not only increases the chances of developing an asbestos related illness but can also reduce the latency period.

As publicity has grown shedding light on the dangers of working with asbestos, so has the amount of frustrated workers wishing to claim asbestosis compensation from the now liable employers. Claims for mesothelioma and asbestosis both of which are a result of exposure to asbestos are typically known to have some of the highest compensation payouts of any industrial disease claim. Because of this legal companies have placed a emphasis on generating potential leads all with a varying catch-line. The question now remains when will asbestos compensation claims become a thing of the past?

Let me start by saying that the statistics surrounding mesothelioma are staggering, around 2000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States of America yearly with an average life expectancy of 18 months. It is said that 11 million people suffered increased exposure to asbestos between the years of 1948 and 1970 and this number has steadily rose until strict regulations were enforced. The first claims for asbestos compensation were reportedly pursued in 1929 and have become evermore prevalent in the last few decades with the peak amount of people being diagnosed with an asbestos related illness is estimated to be in 2020.

New legislation regarding asbestos has been implemented in a number of developed nations. This legislation severely restricts the use of asbestos in any form and has been in place for several years depending on the country. As the number of people subjected to asbestos decreases so will the amount of people developing conditions due to this. However the number of people pursuing asbestos claims will continue to increase until the latency period of the diseases catches up to the times in which asbestos regulations were implemented. An example would be if in the year 2000 a country implemented a complete ban on asbestos and ensured that there would not be any further exposure there would essentially still be claims up until around 2060 although they would be a significant decrease from 2030. At this point anyone exposed to asbestos before 2000 should have already experienced symptoms or would have passed away due to their age or other conditions.

Author Bio; Adam Howard – Atrium Legal

Atrium Legal are specialists in Industrial Disease with Asbestos Compensation being an area of expertise. We give free health and legal advice plus assist in the process of starting litigation against workers who have exposed their workers to asbestos.