The court heard six claims against companies restored to the register of companies to make claims under their insurance policies for personal injury in the form of death from mesothelioma from asbestos, and particularly whether liability could be found under the 1930 Act. The insurers maintained that any liability arose at the time of the exposure to the asbestos, and that therefore the limitation periods had long expired. The companies and personal representatives of the employees said that liability arose only as symptoms began to appear, and that the special exception to the normal rules as to liability in negligence estabished in Fairchild, should not apply when deciding whether any causative act for which they may be responsible occurred in a particular policy year.
Held: The claims against the insurance companies failed; the relevant insurances all responded on an exposure basis. Each of the policies should be interpreted as having a ‘causation wording’, and the liability ‘trigger’ under the Employer’s Liability policy was when the employee inhaled the asbestos and not the date when the malignant lesion developed.
Judges:
Burton J
Citations:
[2008] EWHC 2692 (QB), [2009] 2 All ER 26, [2009] 1 All ER (Comm) 805, [2009] Lloyd’s Rep IR 295
Links:
Statutes:
Third Party (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930, Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd and Others HL 20-Jun-2002
The claimants suffered mesothelioma after contact with asbestos while at work. Their employers pointed to several employments which might have given rise to the condition, saying it could not be clear which particular employment gave rise to the . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Employers’ Liability Insurance ‘Trigger’ Litigation, Re CA 8-Oct-2010
Companies restored to the register, and the personal representatives of former employees, appealed against rejection of their claims from the insurers of the former companies for damages from mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos during . .
At first instance – Employers’ Liability Insurance ‘Trigger’ Litigation: BAI (Run Off) Ltd v Durham and Others SC 28-Mar-2012
The court considered the liability of insurers of companies now wound up for mesothelioma injuries suffered by former employees of those companies, and in particular whether the 1930 Act could be used to impose liability. The insurers now appealed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Company, Limitation
Updated: 21 October 2022; Ref: scu.278222