Docker Can Sue Government for Asbestos Illness

Two former dockers have welcomed a recent High Court decision which means that they, and others, can sue the Government for compensation for asbestos-related illness. This is a major breakthrough because in the past the Government has refused to take responsibility for the conditions under which many dockers used to work. Now the way could be open for many new actions to be launched.

 

The claims date back to work carried out unloading ships in the 1950s and 1960s, when many dockers were exposed to the dangerous cancer-causing substance asbestos. Although the dockers were effectively employed by the shipping companies, the case turned on whether the Government was liable as it was involved in organising the dockers' work under the National Dock Labour Board (NDLB) scheme.

 

Lawyers for the Government claimed that the NDLB scheme meant that it did not employ the dockers. The court decided that despite this the NDLB owed a duty of care towards the dockers as they were only employed on a casual basis by the shipping companies.

 

Robert Thompson, 65, one of the dockers bringing the case, described how workers were surrounded by asbestos which the NDLB must have known was dangerous.

 

This case could open the way for a large number of new actions against the Government. Dockers who can show that they have an asbestos-related illness may be able to sue. In addition, families of those who have died may also have a case for claiming compensation.

 

The fact that legal action can now be taken against the Government will be welcomed by those claimants with similar cases. It is often extremely difficult to track down the original shipping companies and many of these have since gone out of business.

 

The Government has, however, been given leave to appeal the decision.