Government to review mesothelioma claims funding

The Government has confirmed that it will continue to review how mesothelioma claims are funded following the High Court’s decision in October to halt its plans to get rid of recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums in mesothelioma cases

Following a judicial review brought by the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum, Mr Justice Davis ruled that Ministers had to carry out an appropriate review of their funding plans for asbestos-related disease claims. Justice Minister Lord Faulks has now said that the Government will not be making any changes to the law around no-win no-fee deals involving mesothelioma cases “at this time” but that further review would be carried out “in due course”.

“Mesothelioma is an awful disease which can destroy lives in a frighteningly short amount of time and we want to help sufferers and their families. We are committed to finding the best way to get claims settled fairly and quickly,” said Faulks.

New measures to support mesothelioma sufferers have also been set out by the Ministry of Justice, which are meant to streamline the compensation process. These include working with the National Cancer Registration Service and Public Health England to speed up the process of obtaining hospital medical records and giving HM Revenue and Customs the ability to provide the work records of deceased victims to their dependants without permission from the courts.

Faulks said that these would be introduced at the earliest opportunity.

Mark Dugdale