On 11 December 2001, the Court of Appeal gave its decision in
Fairchild and five other related cases. The consequences
of these decisions have been widely reported. Mesothelioma claimants who have been exposed to
asbestos dust by more than one defendant are unlikely to succeed in
their claims as a result of those decisions. The House of Lords
will hear the appeals in two of the related cases, Fox v
Spousal (Midland) Limited and Matthews v Associated Portland Cement
Manufacturers (1978) Limited, on 22 April 2002.
FFW partner Rodney Nelson-Jones has
accepted an invitation to join the legal team representing the
appellants. He is concentrating on the public policy and foreign
law aspects of the cases in conjunction with Sir Sydney Kentridge
QC.
The current position following Fairchild is that
claimants suffering from mesothelioma who have been exposed to
asbestos dust from more than one source, and particularly if they
have been exposed by roughly similar amounts from each source, will
not succeed in a claim against any of those defendants. This is
because the Court of Appeal found that the claimants in that type
of case could not prove, on the balance of probabilities, the
source of the fibre or fibres that initiated the development of the
tumour and could therefore not identify the “guilty” source. The
fact that the defendants had admitted breaches of duty and
negligence causing the claimants to be exposed to “substantial
quantities” of asbestos dust made no difference.
This decision does not directly apply to asbestosis or other asbestos pleural disease
claims.
Update: see Decision of House of
Lords
For further information or if you believe you have a mesothelioma and asbestos claim, please
contact
Peter Williams, partner on
020 7861 4825 or email peter.williams@ffw.com
You can discuss your mesothelioma compensation claim with any
member of our mesothelioma claims
team by calling freephone 0800 358 3848, email
personalinjury@ffw.com
or complete our short enquiry form.