An insurer has dropped an appeal over a High Court ruling that a company must contribute to hospice costs for a former worker exposed to asbestos.
The decision not to appeal against the landmark ruling means hospices, which generally fund care through charity donations, may be able to make claims against companies whose former employees are being cared for with asbestos-related conditions.
Royal & Sun Alliance, insurers for engineering firm Foster Wheeler Ltd, had intended to appeal against a High Court ruling that the firm should pay the cost of James Willson’s care at a London hospice.
Mr Willson, who was employed by Foster Wheeler Ltd, suffered from the asbestos-related condition mesothelioma. He had worked at Deptford power station in the 1950s, where he helped to erect new boilers, and was exposed to asbestos on a regular basis.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma more than 50 years later, in 2006. The condition often lies dormant for many decades after exposure.
Mr Willson spent 23 days at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney before dying there in March 2007 at the age of 76. The High Court judge ruled that Foster Wheeler Ltd should pay all the costs of his care at the hospice.
More than 2,000 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma. Most are former workers at building sites, power stations and shipyards where asbestos was present before the potentially dangerous effects of it became known. The fire-retardant material was commonly used as insulation.
Law firm Irwin Mitchell confirmed that Royal & Sun Alliance had dropped the appeal days before it was due to go ahead.
Medico-Legal News Source: Legal & Medical
