Veterans on closer footing to civilians when it comes 'to asbestos pay-outs

There has been much debate in parliament recently in relation to how victims of asbestos-related mesothelioma who served in the armed forces are compensated - or not, as the law currently dictates.

Essentially, the law protects the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) from being sued for compensation for illness or injury caused before May 1987 under section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act.

A terminal cancer caused
by harmful asbestos dust and fibres, mesothelioma, however, takes decades following exposure to asbestos to show symptoms and manifest itself. Veterans who now find themselves suffering with mesothelioma are highly
likely to have been exposed to asbestos before 1987, before the law changed, preventing them from bringing a claim, despite this option being available to a civilian employee against their same negligent employer.

The Royal British Legion estimates that some 2,500 military veterans will die of mesothelioma from asbestos exposure on ships decades ago. Until 16 December 2015, they could only apply for a war disablement pension or to the armed forces compensation scheme.

The forces charity estimates that, at around £31,000 a year, this is a fraction of the £180,000 lump sum a 63-year-old can expect under the government's diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme for civilians.

However, after a strong campaign led by the Royal British Legion, Defence Minister Mark Lancaster told the House of Commons in December 2015 that veterans would be able to take up the option of a lump sum payment from April 2016.

Naval exposure

The majority of asbestos victims exposed while working for the MoD would have worked on naval ships, where asbestos was used to lag pipes and boilers in engine rooms. Despite the dangers of working with asbestos having been known since the early part of the last century, many service personnel were simply not given the appropriate advice or protective equipment before being asked to carry out tasks which involved cutting into the asbestos, sending the dust flying into the air.

For civilians, the
Mesothelioma Act 2014 enabled the establishment of the diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme, which pays a one-off lump sum to individuals with the disease who cannot trace the relevant employer's liability insurer.

Now, military veterans will themselves be able to choose
a one-off £140,000 lump sum instead of the smaller regular payments under the war pension scheme. Anyone choosing the one-off payment will continue to receive a monthly payment until all of the lump sum is paid. While this is still lower than a civilian may be able to receive, it is a huge step forwards from the previous situation, so the news is to be welcomed.