HUNDREDS of North-East sufferers of asbestos-related diseases are pinning their hopes on the House of Lords overturning a controversial ruling on compensation.
A High Court and Court of Appeal judgment that compensation could not be paid where a worker was exposed to deadly asbestos dust by more than one employer, is being challenged in the House of Lords, in a hearing that began yesterday and is expected to take three days.
Union leaders in the region say if the ruling is not overturned they will attempt to have the law changed.
Barnsley North MP Mick Clapham is having a Bill drawn up and the GMB union will hold a series of meetings in the region for sufferers and their families.
Regional health and safety officer for the GMB, Jim Marshall said that next year 500 to 1,000 North-East people would die from asbestos-related diseases.
He said: "We have a much higher percentage of people dying because we have had so many people employed in industries such as shipbuilding and ship repair."
The challenge in the House of Lords is being brought by Judith Fairchild, from Leeds, widow of Arthur, the widow of Thomas Fox and Edwin Matthews from Rochester, a 54-year-old sufferer.
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