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View the related checklists about Mesothelioma

Checklist—The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme

Checklist—The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme This Checklist outlines the key aspects of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme which was set up in July 2014 to make payments to victims of mesothelioma who are unable to trace either a liable insurer or their employers’ liable insurer. The key aspects of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme are: Provision The law The detail Comment Eligible applicants Section 2 of the Mesothelioma Act 2014 (MA 2014) A claimant is eligible for payment if 'a relevant employer has negligently or in breach of statutory duty caused or permitted the person to be exposed to asbestos'The claimant must not have already brought a claim for damages against an insurer or employerThey must be 'unable to bring an action' because the employer or insurer 'cannot be found or no longer exists or for any other reason'The claimant must not have received damages or 'a specified payment' or be entitled to received such a payment in respect of their mesothelioma This eligibility criteria can be problematic for...

View the related practice notes about Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma claims—procedure

This Practice Note outlines the procedure for bringing a mesothelioma claim, distinguishing between the different rules for ‘living’ or ‘fatal’ mesothelioma claims. The courts will fast track living cases because mesothelioma victims have a short life expectancy. The Practice Note considers Practice Direction 49B including the show cause procedure which aims to speed up the litigation process for this type of claim, the Asbestos List which operates within the Royal Courts of Justice and the Compensation Act 2006 and causation issues including what asbestos exposure constitutes a material increase in risk.The Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness ClaimsThe Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims applies to all personal injury claims where the injury is not the result of an accident but instead a disease or illness. For further guidance on the Protocol, see Practice Note: The Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims.Note, however, that in a terminal disease claim with a short life expectancy, eg a claim on behalf of a living mesothelioma claimant, the court may not...

Asbestos—causation in personal injury claims

In order to recover damages a claimant in a personal injury claim must establish that the defendant caused or made a material contribution to the accident/contraction of disease. As will be seen below, there is an exception to this rule in one specific area.This issue is far from straightforward, from both a legal and a medical standpoint.The medical positionFrom a medical standpoint, different considerations apply to the various types of disease that can be contracted by reason of exposure to asbestos.Some conditions are aggravated, or the effects increased, by further exposure to asbestos.Other conditions, once contracted, are wholly unaffected by continued exposure.Some conditions can be contracted by a single instance of exposure to asbestos (indeed by the inhalation of a single fibre of asbestos).The medical differences have led the courts to draw a distinction between what are referred to as divisible and non-divisible conditions. Different tests and rules apply to causation issues depending on whether the condition is classified as divisible or non-divisible.Returning to the medical analysis, the following is...

View the related precedents about Mesothelioma

Defence—fatal mesothelioma claim (Building (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1948)

Defence—fatal mesothelioma claim (Building (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1948) In the high court of justice [[SPECIFY DIVISION]] [[INSERT LOCATION] DISTRICT REGISTRY] Claim No: [insert number] Between: C (Widow and executrix in the Estate of [name of deceased] (deceased))        Claimant and D LTD        Defendant ________________________________________________ Defence ________________________________________________ 1 Paragraph numbers in this Defence relate to paragraph numbers in the Particulars of Claim dated [insert date], unless otherwise stated. 2 Paragraph 1 of the Particulars of Claim is admitted. 3 Paragraph 2 of the Particulars of Claim is denied. The Defendant has no employment records for the deceased and has not seen, or been provided with, any evidence corroborating his alleged employment by it. 4 It is denied that the deceased was exposed to asbestos during the period of his alleged employment by the Defendant, whether as alleged in paragraph 2 of the Particulars of Claim or at all. On the basis of the present evidence the Defendant’s case is as follows: 4.1 The Defendant’s business during...

Letter of claim—a living mesothelioma claimant who was exposed to asbestos from the work clothes of a family member

Letter of claim—a living mesothelioma claimant who was exposed to asbestos from the work clothes of a family member      Your ref:Our ref:Please ask for:Date:Direct Line:Email:      Dear [insert organisation name] URGENT—LIVING MESOTHELIOMA CLAIMANT YOU MUST DEAL WITH THIS LETTER IMMEDIATELY Re: Our Client: Address: Date of Birth: National Insurance Number: Your Previous Employee: Date of Birth: Date of Death: National Insurance Number: Place of Work: We are instructed by our above named client in respect of a claim for damages due to personal injury in connection with exposure to asbestos, as a consequence of asbestos dust carried home on the work clothes of a family member, [insert relation eg husband, wife or parent and insert their name] while they were employed by [insert employer’s name] between [insert dates]. It is for this reason we are directing the claim to you. We are writing this letter in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims. Please confirm the identity of your insurers. Please...

View the related q&as about Mesothelioma

I need to serve a notice of funding but where can I find the relevant CPR provisions?

I need to serve a notice of funding but where can I find the relevant CPR provisions? Where a claimant wishes to be able to recover its success fee arising under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) entered into with their legal representative, that party must provide a notice of the funding arrangement to the court and all other parties in the case. The Jackson reforms in 2013 resulted, in large part, in the removal of the ability to claim success fees from the other side such that there was no requirement to serve a Notice of Funding on the other side. As a consequence, there is no provision within the CPR costs provisions dealing with the requirements surrounding a Notice of Funding. 1 April 2013 is the date on which provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into force and give effect, in large part to the Jackson reforms in 2013. The reforms are not retrospective. However, success fees are...

A was employed by a partnership that was later incorporated. A left the partnership before it was incorporated. A has since developed mesothelioma and we are bringing a claim on their behalf. We have directed the letter of claim to the incorporated company but they have denied liability saying that there was no transfer of liability. Is there a point of law which shows that they are liable (eg same directors and address)?

A was employed by a partnership that was later incorporated. A left the partnership before it was incorporated. A has since developed mesothelioma and we are bringing a claim on their behalf. We have directed the letter of claim to the incorporated company but they have denied liability saying that there was no transfer of liability. Is there a point of law which shows that they are liable (eg same directors and address)? In occupational illness cases, it is often the case that the claimant worked many years ago for a business that no longer exists, has changed its name or transferred liabilities within complex group structures. The defendant's lawyers may take issue with the identity of a defendant within the defence, and resolving such issues prior to commencement of proceedings is always desirable. Properly identifying the parties to a claim at the outset is particularly important in order to avoid incurring any unnecessary costs in later having to discontinue against a party and/or amend the...

View the related News about Mesothelioma

Reforming the Personal Injury Pre-Action Protocols

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence analysis: The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has concluded its extensive review of the various existing pre-action protocols (PAPs). Here we focus specifically on the Personal Injury PAPs.

PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—1 August 2024

This week's edition of PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights includes a Supreme Court refusal to permit appeal in a mesothelioma claim, a High Court road traffic accident claim, and two High Court clinical negligence cases involving contempt of court. We also include our usual round up of other news and cases.