Fairchild reasoning published

The House of Lords has now published the reasoning behind their already-delivered decision for the mesothelioma claimants [See LRI June 2002 and Case Update in this issue]. Where the claimants could not establish which employer was responsible for causing the disease, which it is theoretically possible to be caused by a single fibre of asbestos, the Law Lords were prepared in the interests of justice to relax the normal test for causation (the “but for” test). The material increase in risk caused by the defendant’s breach of duty would be sufficient to prove causation and allow the claimant to recover the full amount of damages from any defendant where he can establish that: