Women and the legacy of asbestos and compensation claims
Posted: 7th Jul 25 1:24 PM
Written by Jan Garvey (Senior Case Manager at the National Asbestos Helpline)
Last Updated: 07/07/2025
The experience of women and access to justice through compensation claims for asbestos diseases remains largely untold.
The impact of asbestos in traditionally male-dominated industries such as shipbuilding, engineering, and construction is well documented.
It is a generation of working-class men denied a healthy retirement by cruel asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural thickening.
Meanwhile, the narrative around women diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases is complicated and not as commonly heard, but just as tragic.
Secondary exposure to asbestos
Traditionally, most women were exposed to asbestos fibres through secondary exposure from family members. Typically, their husbands or sons would arrive home in work clothes contaminated with asbestos. During the process of shaking out and washing the work clothes, wives and mothers would breathe in the deadly asbestos fibres and, 10 to 50 years later, develop mesothelioma or lung cancer.
Another concerning trend is that even jobs deemed ‘safe’ for women have not escaped the deadly legacy of asbestos. From the 1950s and through to the 1990s, asbestos was traditionally used in the fabric of many buildings because of its fireproof and insulation properties. Many old public buildings like schools and hospitals still contain asbestos and we are sadly seeing teachers and nurses developing mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis in later life.
In many factories and within many manufacturing processes, asbestos was used. From laundries and textile factories to ceramics and telecommunications. Women had many roles in these industries and were unknowingly exposed to the deadly material.
The number of women dying of mesothelioma is not declining
There is a worrying trend that whilst the number of men diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease is falling, the number of women diagnosed is not.
According to the latest statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (Asbestos-related disease statistics, Great Britain 2024, July 2024), trends are consistent with projections that annual deaths in males would reduce during the 2020s, whereas in females they would continue to be 400 to 500 annual deaths per year during the 2020s.
There were 419 female deaths in 2022 from mesothelioma compared with 407 in 2021 and an average of 422 deaths per year over the period 2012-2020.
Women claiming compensation for asbestos-related diseases
A man’s path through a claim for compensation and to justice is still demanding, but it remains a straighter road than a woman’s civil case. A claim for asbestos compensation for a woman has unique difficulties:
- More often, women don’t know where they were exposed to asbestos, making evidence gathering for a compensation claim more challenging.
- Finding witnesses can be difficult because former work colleagues will be just as ignorant of the risks they faced from asbestos in their workplace.
- In many cases, women were not directly and regularly working within an asbestos environment. They may have had administrative or cleaning jobs that required them to pass through the factory floor or warehouse.
So, gathering evidence for a successful compensation claim for a woman diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease can be challenging and more complicated.
Calculating damages for a woman exposed to asbestos
In the past, important factors have been overlooked when calculating the amount of compensation appropriate for a woman who has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
Remember that this is a generation of women who have had to take a more traditional role within society. Their careers may have been interrupted by childbirth and caregiving responsibilities. They may not have been financially independent, and pension provisions will not be as substantial, which are all considered as part of the asbestos litigation and the amount of damages.
Women’s secondary exposure to asbestos under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS)
DMPS is a government-funded scheme that gives compensation to asbestos victims diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who were exposed to asbestos at work but are unable to make a compensation claim against their former employer. This can be for several reasons, including the fact that the firm no longer exists or the insurer is untraceable.
At this time, secondary exposure is not eligible for the DMPS.
In these circumstances, women can claim for ‘diffuse mesothelioma payments’, known as the ‘2008 scheme’. This is a fixed payment depending on how old you are when you are diagnosed. For example, if you are diagnosed at the age of 55, you will receive £76,688, and at the age of 70, the payment is set at £22,612.
The ‘2008 scheme’ payments are roughly in line with what a person might receive under DMPS, but there are disadvantages:
- The DMPS is based on the details of a compensation claim and is more flexible than the ‘2008 scheme’, so there is an opportunity to secure a better outcome in terms of damages.
- A claim under the ‘2008 scheme’ must be made within 12 months of diagnosis, but an asbestos victim has 3 years to make a claim under the DMPS scheme.
- You can claim for DMPS even if you have already claimed from the ‘2008 scheme’. The payment from the ‘2008 scheme’ will be deducted from the DMPS but you will still receive the difference if your DMPS settlement is a better outcome.
This unfairly disadvantages and limits the options open to women who are predominantly more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma through secondary exposure.
Asbestos charities and legal experts continue to lobby and campaign for the government and insurance industry to include secondary exposure within the scope of the DMPS.
Expertise in asbestos compensation claims for women
We have helped hundreds of women over the past 20 years to secure justice and the compensation they are entitled to. We have the expertise and tenacity to support you or a family member if they have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, pleural thickening, or other lung conditions.
We can help with information, advice, government benefits, evidence gathering, and ultimately a compensation claim through specialist solicitors, Alderstone Solicitors.
Give us a call or send us an email, and we will be in touch.
Legal content reviewed by Joan Kennedy (Partner and Solicitor in Asbestos Disease Law at Alderstone Solicitors)