Government compensation plans ‘will aid industrial disease victims’

Posted 11/02/2010

New plans to assist industrial disease victims in making compensation claims against former employers have been announced by the government.

The Department of Work and Pensions has responded to concerns that many claimants are facing difficulty in tracing their former boss’s liability insurance policy by introducing an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office.

This will offer assistance to sufferers of long-gestating conditions such as -related mesothelioma, who might otherwise face complications due to employers being unable to locate older insurance records.

Meanwhile, an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau is also set to be established, which will provide last resort funds to those who are unable to trace those liable for their conditions.

DWP minister Lord McKenzie said the scheme is being proposed because “far too many people suffering from serious industrial diseases are unable to trace their insurance policies and get the compensation they deserve”.

This move has been welcomed by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, which has now called on all political parties to support the proposals.