Mesothelioma Act compensation amounts increased

Victims of the fatal asbestos-induced cancer Mesothelioma who have not been able to trace a liable employer or an employer's liability insurer will, from now on, be able to apply for compensation packages worth an average of £123,000.

The Government announced in March that it had increased this amount from the initial £115,000 debated in the House of Commons in January "after making savings in the administration costs of the scheme"

Around 3,500 victims of mesothelioma or their families can apply for compensation from now and will receive payments from July this year, as part of a £380 million package.

Mike Penning (Works & Pensions Minister), who is well known to those of us who work in demolition via his links with the NFDC said "This will end years of injustice for mesothelioma victims and their families, who have had to endure this terrible disease with little hope of any compensation from the insurance industry"

The Mesothelioma Act was passed in January and allowed for the creation of a new package of support, funded by insurance firms, to compensate more than 800 eligible people in 2014 and 300 every year after that until 2024.