South African Asbestos Victims Lose Out -- MesoLink.org -- 09-08-04

Thousands of South African mesothelioma and asbestos victims have had their hopes shattered after being informed earlier this year that they will only receive a fraction of the compensation payouts that they were expecting.

The company against which the asbestos litigation was filed by over 7,500 South African claimants has not been named, but the claims were for damage and illness caused by exposure to asbestos.

The company in question promised the claimants multi-million dollar payouts in December 2001.

However, the court action dragged on for so long that that many of the claimants – over ten percent – had died by the time the others were informed that they would be receiving less than half of the sum promised to them in 2001.

This means that over 750 claimants never even got to hear whether their claims had been successful and whether their families would receive any financial security when they had gone.

Asbestos is the known cause of mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lungs, abdomen or heart, as well as other related diseases. Litigation across the world for asbestos related diseases has reach multi-billion dollar proportions.

However, the length taken for many cases to be heard means that sometimes the victim has already passed away before any of the compensation of seen.