Victory for common sense

Victory for common sense as Supreme Court tells insurers to pay up in mesothelioma claims

Insurance companies, Excess Insurance, MMI, Builders Accident and Independent Insurance Company tried to persuade the court that because of the specific words they had chosen to use in their policies years ago, they did not have to pay claims for compensation for mesothelioma sufferers.


If the Supreme Court had agreed with the insurance companies it would have left some mesothelioma sufferers and their families without the compensation they deserve and created a lottery where some mesothelioma sufferers received compensation and others did not just because their employer choose to insure with a different insurance company.

The Supreme Court did not agree with the insurance companies and told them in no uncertain terms that the policies they issued did cover mesothelioma claims. The policies covered the activities of the employer during the insurance period. It did not matter that the employee did not develop mesothelioma until years later. They took the premiums and now they must pay up.


Carolann Hepworth, specialist solicitor at John Pickering and Partners LLP, said:

This is a tremendous victory for mesothelioma victims and their families. They will now finally receive the compensation they deserve and have waited for, for so long.


She commented further: It is hard to comprehend the mindset of the insurance companies who were happy to take millions of pounds in premiums and having spent the money then argue that thousands who were wrongly exposed to asbestos and developed a fatal illness are not entitled to any compensation”.

“The Judges have sent a strong message to the Insurers to pay these claims.”

As one of the Supreme Court Justices Lord Clarke said: “it would be remarkable if the insurers were not liable under the policies. The whole purpose of the policies was to insure the employers against their liability to the workers.”

Background:  Every year, there are more than 2000 cases of mesothelioma in the UK, the exposure in the UK being comparatively high because we imported so much brown asbestos.  Much of the exposure to asbestos took place more than 40 years ago and employers have gone out of business. If we can trace the insurance Company on risk at the time, our clients may  receive compensation from the Insurance Company

Supreme Court Monday 5th December 2011

On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)


The construction of employers’ liability policies, in the context of liabilities incurred by employers for mesothelioma, under which an indemnity is provided if an injury or disease is ‘sustained’ or ‘contracted’ during the period of insurance.

There are nine appeals to the Supreme Court arising out of six separate actions. They arise from the deaths from mesothelioma of employees who inhaled asbestos fibres during employment. In each case the employees’ personal representatives or the employers liable to them seek to recover loss from the employers’ insurers under policies of employers’ liability insurance covering periods from the late 1940s to 1998. The principal issue is what constitutes the ‘trigger’ for liability of an insurer to indemnify the insured within any policy period: in particular whether it is the tortious exposure of a victim to asbestos dust, or the onset of mesothelioma.

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

Lord Mance of Frognal

Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore

Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony

Lord Dyson

Time estimate number of days 8 days

Hearing date 05 Dec 2011



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Sponsored Walk

                                                    Sponsored walkers Sunday 29th May
A big thank you to everyone who took part in the sponsored walk, it was a great turnout and it didn't rain this year. I will let you know how much money we have raised in total so far it it 471.00, so a well done everyone

Mesothelima Cases Likely Underreported Worldwide

The study is the first to provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on the collective experience of countries with available data on asbestos use and the disease.

For every four to five reported cases of mesothelioma worldwide, at least one case goes unreported, according to a study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. This study is the first to provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on the collective experience of countries with available data on asbestos use and the disease.
Malignant mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. The disease is difficult to diagnose until it is far advanced, and the prognosis is usually poor. The study’s authors used numbers of mesothelioma deaths as a proxy for numbers of cases, because mesothelioma patients usually die shortly after diagnosis. Also, in many countries, deaths in general tend to be more uniformly and accurately reported than diagnoses.
The authors assessed the relationship between country-level asbestos use from 1920 through 1970 and mesothelioma deaths reported between 1994 and 2008. Cumulative asbestos use in 89 countries, which accounted for more than 82 percent of the global population in the year 2000, totaled more than 65 million metric tons during 1920–1970. The United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan led the group in asbestos use, defined as production plus import minus export. For the 56 countries also reporting mesothelioma data, there were approximately 174,300 such deaths during 1994–2008.

Mesothelioma typically develops 20–50 years after exposure to asbestos. Accordingly, a country’s cumulative use of asbestos in prior decades was found to clearly and reliably predict numbers of recent mesothelioma deaths in the countries reporting mortality data. When the authors extrapolated this finding to the 33 countries not reporting mesothelioma data, they estimated 38,900 additional cases may have occurred in these countries during that same 15-year period.

“Our most important finding is the magnitude of unreported mesothelioma in countries that use asbestos at substantial levels but report no cases of the disease,” says study co-author Ken Takahashi of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan. Such countries include Russia, Kazakstan, China, and India, which rank in the top 15 countries for cumulative asbestos use.
Takahashi says any country that uses asbestos is certain to have cases of mesothelioma. He notes the study’s estimates may be conservative because both asbestos use and mesothelioma may be underreported in the countries used as the basis for their estimates.
The authors propose that every country ban the mining, use, and export of asbestos because, Takahashi says, mesothelioma can be prevented by eliminating exposure to asbestos. They also propose that developed countries share experience and technology to help developing countries better diagnose, report, and manage mesothelioma cases.

Proteins May Hold Key to Mesothelioma Susceptibility

Altered cellular proteins may reveal clues as to why some people exposed to asbestos get mesothelioma, while others don’t. That is the conclusion of new research conducted in China.

Asbestos has long been known to cause mesothelioma, but the mechanisms by which it does so remain largely a mystery. For instance, scientists have been at a loss to say why some people can work around asbestos for years with no ill effects, while others with the same level of exposure contract malignant mesothelioma. Understanding why this happens may not only help predict who is at higher risk, but may also give doctors new targets for treatments.

Now, research from China is shedding new light on the subject. The researchers focused their attention on cellular proteins, the command ‘signals’ that direct most cellular activity. To conduct the study, the team looked at samples of three kinds of cells: healthy mesothelial cells, healthy mesothelial cells that were exposed to crocidolite asbestos in the lab, and malignant mesothelioma cells. A multiplex immunoblot-based assay test was used to measure the expression levels of 112 different proteins and phosphoproteins in each of the samples.

The levels of 16 proteins and phosophoproteins were altered (7 were decreased, 9 were increased) in the benign mesothelial cells after they were treated with crocidolite asbestos in the lab. Most of the effected proteins were those that involve DNA damage repair and cell cycle regulation. In the malignant mesothelioma cells, 21 proteins were found to be altered (5 were decreased, 16 were increased). The researchers report “substantial overlap” between the proteins affected in the asbestos-treated cell and the mesothelioma cells.

Reporting in the international medical journal Mutation Research, the Chinese scientists conclude that asbestos exposure “has extensive affects on regulatory pathways and networks” and that these altered proteins may be used in the future to indentify people who are at high risk for developing mesothelioma. Medical treatments that target the levels of these key proteins might also be a way to control mesothelioma, which is notoriously difficult to treat with standard therapeutic modalities.
Sources:
Wang, H et al, “Crocidolite asbestos-induced signal pathway dysregulation in mesothelioma cells”, May 6, 2011, Mutation Research. Epub ahead of print.

For more information go to http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/

Thanks A Million

Chris Knighton

It is so good to hear that the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund has raised one million pound for research. All the money we raise goes to this fund which all goes directly to research into Mesothelioma. Well done to Chris Knighton and to everyone who has donated to this charity.
AFTER Mick Knighton died of asbestos-related cancer in 2001, his wife Chris vowed to raise £100,000 in her husband’s name because that was the average amount of compensation paid to mesothelioma sufferers.
But now, ten years after setting up the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, she is celebrating having collected ten times the amount she set out to raise.“It’s just amazing that we’ve reached £1m, and the fact this is Mick’s tenth anniversary year makes it even more special,” said Chris, of Wallsend. Mick was diagnosed with mesothelioma after returning from holiday with a chest infection.Chris said: “We were told there was no treatment, no cure and no hope.” Just eight months later, Mick, pictured, died.“Throughout Mick’s illness, we had both become increasingly aware of how little is known about mesothelioma and the vital need for more research into the disease,” said Chris. Mick had been exposed to asbestos while in the Navy. As a gunner, he was issued with anti-inflammable gauntlets and hoods, and the gun turret he manned was lined with asbestos. “Many of our donations are given by people who themselves have lost loved ones to the disease, and I’m so grateful for their support,” said Chris. “£1m is fantastic, but it’s what we’ve been able to do with it that’s important.” So far, the charity has funded four major research studies of mesothelioma, and the Rotary Club of Monkseaton Centenary this week presented Chris with a community service award for her fundraising efforts. “Our first study was into Alimta, the only licensed chemotherapy drug to help treat the disease,” she said. “Although not a cure, it may bring a better quality of life for longer to some.
“The next two studies are looking into treating mesothelioma by stem cells. Although in the early stages, the results so far have been encouraging. “The latest study is a new approach into starving the mesothelioma cells of the nutrients they need to survive.” The charity has also set up mesothelioma self-help and friendship groups in both North and South Tyneside to give sufferers and their families an opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances. “My next challenge is to raise enough money to set up the first mesothelioma tissue and blood bank, which will have a major impact on research into the disease,” said Chris. The fund is holding a memorial service on Friday, July 1, at 11am at St Nicholas’s Cathedral in Newcastle.
Chris said: “The service is for all who have lost their lives to asbestos-related disease, and mesothelioma in particular, and will be followed by a sponsored dove release in their memory. “The service forms part of Action Mesothelioma Day, an annual event to raise awareness of mesothelioma.”
The service will be followed by a seminar at 1.30pm. To book a place at the seminar or make a donation, call (0191) 263 7386 or e-mail c.knighton@mkmrf.org.uk
To learn more about mesothelioma or the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, visit www.mickknightonmesorf.org

Bernie Brighton Marathon 2011

Well done to Bernie Barnaville for completing the Brighton Marathon and running it for our charity, he raised over six hundred pounds for his efforts, it was a huge commitment and we are very proud of him for doing it on behalf of the charity.

Don't forget our sponsored walk on Sunday 29th May, (details below)

Renal Cancer Drug Can Be Used as New Treatment For Mesothelioma

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

In a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, temsirolimus, a drug that is used to treat kidney cancer, has shown positive results when treating pleural mesothelioma cells. Temsirolimus is a kinase inhibitor, which blocks the growth of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) proteins. These proteins are found in mesothelioma cells.

Malignant mesothelioma, an uncommon form of cancer that develops in the lining of the vital organs in the body, is directly linked to asbestos exposure. Because of the long latency period associated with the cancer, it is frequently not diagnosed until the late stages of the disease.

Temsirolimus had a strong growth-stopping effect on all mesothelioma cells. However, cisplatin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug for mesothelioma treatment, displayed hypersensitivity against temsirolimus. Because of this, researchers in the study believe temsirolimus can be used in combination with other current chemotherapeutic treatments as a second-line treatment.

Professor Walter Berger of the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna, a researcher on the project, stated, “Malignant mesothelioma is a severe human malignancy characterized by a very bad prognosis, with a mean patient survival of less than one year. This unacceptable situation is mainly caused by late diagnosis combined with a distinct resistance to all forms of systemic therapy available so far.”

Professor Berger commented further on the results of the study saying, “In our preclinical study, published in the JTO, we were able to demonstrate that the inhibition of the major oncogene mTOR is activate against human mesothelioma especially after development of chemotherapy resistance both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest the initiation of clinical trials involving mTOR inhibitors as novel anti-mesothelioma strategy.”

Charity Sponsored Walk Sunday 29th May

We are again doing a sponsored walk this year to raise the much needed funds for research. The walk will be from Holywell to the Southern Water plant along the seafront, and will start at 11.00am then afterwards at Eastourne United Football Club for a barbeque a raffle and a few well earned drinks.

Anyone who wants to take part please contact me 01323 649220 or email millietalula@supanet.com or chris@nimaprint.co.ukl and I will send you out a sponsor form and all the details.

The theme of the walk is to "Be A Little Angel & Walk For Charity" so we would like to see wings, halo's and any other angelic things you can think of to wear.

Thanks for all your support and we look forward to seeing you there.

Brighton Marathon 2011

Bernie Barnaville is running the Brighton marathon in aid of our charity on Sunday 11th April 2011, it is a gruelling 26 miles, so think he is wonderful to take this on.

He has set up a donation and information site www.justgivine.com/bernie-barnaville and also has sponsor packs available, so please give him your support.

All the money you raise goes directly to Mesothlioma & Asbestos research so every penny is needed to find a cure.

The opening of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Inovation planned for London in 2011 will hopefully concentrate some of it research on asbestos exposure and subsequent diseases, it's new chief executive Sir Paul Nurse is a renown specialist in cancer research and cell biology.