News Release Page Title

31 May 2000

COMPENSATION INCREASE FOR ASBESTOS DISEASE VICTIMS

Compensation payments for sufferers from asbestos and other dust-related diseases will increase from tomorrow by 2.5%, in line with inflation, to a maximum of £56,567, the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment announced today.

The payments are made under the Pneumoconiosis Etc., (Workers' Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. The Order provides compensation to sufferers, or their dependants, who are unable to claim compensation from the organisation employing them when the dust exposure causing their illness occurred.

Asbestos and other dust-related diseases take a long time to develop and many sufferers become ill up to 40 years after exposure to the dust. By the time the disease is diagnosed, the employer responsible may have gone out of business, or the time-lapse may prove a major obstacle to bringing a successful court action. The 1979 Order provides compensation to those finding themselves in such a situation.

Over 70% of payments are made to those suffering from mesothelioma, an extremely severe form of cancer which can take up to 35 years or more to develop. It is invariably terminal within 12-18 months.

The lump-sum payments made under the 1979 Order have been increased in line with inflation and will apply to new claims medically assessed after 1 June 2000. Payments range from a minimum of £1,991 to a maximum of £56,567, with the amount of compensation awarded dependent on the sufferer's age and the level of their disability.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The diseases covered by the 1979 Order are:
  • diffuse messothelioma (asbestos related cancer);
  • pneumoconiosis (which includes silicosis - associated with slate quarrying, asbestosis, and kaolinosis - associated with china clay);
  • diffuse pleural thickening (asbestos related);
  • primary carcinoma of the lung (only if accompanied by asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening);
  • byssinosis (associated with exposure to cotton dust).
  1. The Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers' Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 were laid before Parliament on 16th May 2000. They increase payments under the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers' Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 ("the 1979 Order") by 2.5% for persons who first become entitled to a payment on or after 1 June 2000.
  2. The 2.5% increase in payments is in line with recent increases in the Retail Price Index and will ensure that as of 1 June 2000 the cumulative increase in the level of payments under the scheme since it began in January 1980 mirrors that of the cumulative increase in the Retail Prices Index over the same period.
  3. Award of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit by the Department ofSocial Development is a precondition for payments under the Order to all sufferers and most dependants.
  4. Applications for compensation should be made to the Department of Higher and Further Education Training and Employment at Adelaide House, 39-49 Adelaide Street, Belfast, BT2 8FD. Telephone 028 90257400.