Government to review how mesothelioma claims are funded

The Government will review how mesothelioma claims are funded, after losing a judicial review, the Ministry of Justice has reportedly said.

The Ministry of Justice however has still not confirmed the format or timing of the review. The Ministry of Justice, under the headline “New Support for Industrial Disease Victims”, has reportedly said that new measures will be introduced to speed up the process of obtaining hospital medical records. HMRC will also be able to disclose work records of deceased mesothelioma victims.

The issue concerning funding follows on from the Government previously exempting mesothelioma claims for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, which scrapped the recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums from losing Defendants.

A year ago, the Government announced that the exception would be lifted from mesothelioma claims, but this was subsequently found to be unlawful by the High Court in October 2014, after a Judge ruled that the consultation was not the full review the Government had promised.

Andrew Stinchcombe of Novum Law comments “Mesothelioma is a very serious and debilitating disease, which has a very serious impact on sufferers and their relatives. It is important that sufferers who are unfortunate enough to suffer from this disease are given full access to justice, and continuing to allow Claimants to recover their success fees and insurance premiums from Defendants is a just and fair system and it is hoped that the Government and insurance industry will continue to take note of this”.

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