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Message to Asbestos Victims and the General Public

 

 

Latest Messages:

Chester Street Scandal - Robbing the Victims

Clydebank Asbestos Group Protest Rally

 

 

Previous Messages:

White Lung Association Cannot Accept the Asbestos Compensation Act of 2000

Minutes of Meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group Occupational Health Services Sub-Committee on Asbestos -February 15, 2000

The Asbestos Conspiracy

Asbestos-Related Claims Bar Date in Babcock & Wilcox Bankruptcy

December 17th is ASBESTOS HAZARD AWARENESS DAY

Eternit found guilty of gross negligence

The White Lung Association Condemns WTO Action to Exclude the Views of Asbestos Victims (& Greenpeace Press Release)

Cape Judgement: Good News for Asbestos Miners in South Africa

Ray Sentes Brave Fighter For Asbestos Victims

10 Reasons to Dismantle the WTO

WLA Board of Directors Evaluation of Current Legislation Concerning Asbestos Victims

White Lung Association Makes Proposal for Asbestos Victim's Compensation

Asbestos Victim's Superfund Compensation Program (1999)

International Asbestos Conference in Osasco, Brazil, September 15-20, 2000


Chester Street Scandal - Robbing the Victims

1.Thousands of asbestos sufferers, many of them dying from their illnesses, could lose out on NINETY-FIVE PERCENT of their compensation after the collapse of Chester Street Insurance Holdings Ltd.

 

2.The company called in the provisional liquidators Pricewaterhouse Coopers in January of this year. They claim that they cannot meet the rising number of claims from asbestos victims who are suing former employers who were insured by the company.

 

3.The company sold their main profitable asset Iron Trades Insurance ensuring that they had no profits to pay out successful asbestos claimants.

 

4.The company was sold for £175 million, which is £50 million less than the market value. The buyers, an Australian company QBE Ltd. held back £27 million of the purchase price.

5.This means that Chester Street received £77 million less than their own valuation of the companyÕs assets. What was the role of the regulatory authority in all of this?

6.Chester Street paid a £440,000 bonus to chief executive Robert Hardy months before it collapsed. His wages went from £70,000 in 1998 to £668,000 the following year. Why?

7.Chester Street is publicly acknowledging £200 million of assets. According to analysis carried out by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) this sum would be enough to pay out up to 2,500 Mesothelioma victims. At this rate a maximum of four years worth of claims will exhaust the reserves.

8.Asbestos sufferers or their bereaved relatives should not have to go through the stress of court action only to be told that the amount of damages they will be paid FIVE PER CENT of their legal entitlement.

9.This is a discredit to the insurance industry, which can be compared with the worst excesses of the Maxwell scandal.

10.It is estimated that 5,000 Scottish shipyard workers will die of asbestos-related illness in the next 10 years because of their previous exposure to asbestos at work. If the Chester Street scandal is allowed to continue unchallenged thousands of asbestos victims will be denied justice.

11.We demand that Government undertake a full public inquiry into the events within this insurance company in the pre-liquidation period.

12.We demand that the whole value of all successful claims be met in full. Justice delayed is justice denied.

 


Clydebank Asbestos Group

Protest Rally

Make your way to Clydebank
Chester Street Financial Scandal

 

We Demand a Full Public Inquiry
Government Intervention Now
100% Compensation For Asbestos Victims
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied
Examine the Chester Street Insurance Holdings Robbery

 

 

 

Speakers include:

 

BILL SPEIRS (General Secretary STUC)

MRS JOAN BAIRD (Clydebank Asbestos Group)

JIMMY REID (Former Shop Stewards Convener UCS)

ANDY WHITE (Leader West-Dunbartonshire Council)

DES McNULTY MSP (Clydebank & Milngavie)

LLOYD QUINAN MSP (Scottish National Party)

TOMMY SHERIDAN MSP (Scottish Socialist Party)

FRANK MAGUIRE (Solicitor/Advocate)

TONY WORTHINGTON MP (Clydebank & Milngavie)

 

 

 

SATURDAY

31 MARCH 2001

CLYDEBANK TOWN HALL

Assemble 10.30am Queens Square, Clydebank

Short march to venue

 

All Welcome

 

Further details Tel: 0141 951 1008

 

 

 

 

 

 


Front Page, Week Of:

4/16/05: Spectre to Introduce U.S. Asbestos Bill This Week

5/22/05: Individuals Injured by Asbestos Exposure Oppose Specter's Trust Fund Legislation

10/16/05: Victim's Organizations Form Asbestos Victims Coalition in Opposition to Asbestos Trust Fund Legislation

11/17/05: White Lung Mourns Jose Jesus Pessora

12/18/05: Frist Introducing Asbestos Bill in January

12/04/06: Asbestos Watch Newsletter: Help Celebrate the 27th Anniversary of the WHITE LUNG ASSOCIATION

Jim Fite's Alerts:

Asbestos Victim's Superfund Compensation Program

Asbestos Watch March 14, 2005 (Maryland chapter of the White Lung Association meetings)

Directorate of Safety, Health, and Environment (open letter)

(more...)


Joe Oliver's Alerts:

Joe Oliver, National Board Member and former President of the White Lung Association, has issued a call to all persons to help gather evidence on the conspiracy by asbestos trade organizations to suppress the knowledge about the hazards of asbestos exposure.

If you know anything about this horrific history or have documents which can be used to further prove their heinous crimes, please contact Joe Oliver, WLA, POB 1483, Balt. MD 21203.

Leonard Makowski's Alerts:

The White Lung Association stands in opposition to The Specter Bill (S.852)


WLA Alerts & News

S.1115: Bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the health risks posed by asbestos-containing products - This bill is supported by the WLA.

Meet Mr. Asbestos

Proceedings of the Asbestos Symposium for the Asian Countries - now available for purchase.

Australia Bans Asbestos!

(more...)

News:

Senator Specter Breaks Promise to Mesothelioma Patient and Research Community

Senate Judiciary Committee returns to Mark-Up on May 11th: Proposed asbestos trust fund legislation will further penalize victims of asbestos-caused diseases

(more...)


World Trade Center Health:

In May 2003, the Global Environment & Technology Foundation developed the "Asbestos Strategies" report.

British Asbestos Newsletter:

The latest issue is Spring 2005

(more...)

News from India:

The latest issue is January 4, 2007

(more...)

Features:

December 17, 2000 is Asbestos Hazard Awareness Day

(more...)

Current Projects:

Asbestos Museum

 

Articles & Publications:

Occupational Respiratory Diseases: Asbestos Associated Disease -- Reprinted from: Maxcy-Rosenau Public Health and Preventative Medicine 11th ed. (John M. Last, Ed.) 1980, Appleton-Century-Crofts

Asbestos Victims Deserve Compensation Not Betrayal: position release by the Board of Directors, White Lung Association

(more...)

Links:


In Memoria:

Paul Safchuck May 21, 2003

Dr. William Nicholson Dies at 70

Ray Sentes Brave Fighter For Asbestos Victims


For more information please contact info whitelung org.