Insurance, reinsurance and underwriting names' liability for asbestos-related diseases

Our plain-English summary of Insurance, reinsurance and underwriting names' liability for asbestos-related diseases, by M. Weller (Medicine, Science, and the Law, 1992).

The study

• Author: M. Weller
• Journal: Medicine, Science, and the Law
• Published: 1992;32(1):23-34
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004180).

In plain English

This article was a narrative review and commentary, which the author called an essay, rather than an original study. It reported no new data. The author traced knowledge linking asbestos to disease from antiquity, then through reports from 1898 onward. It described three main fiber types: blue asbestos (crocidolite), which the article called the most toxic; amosite; and white asbestos, spelled 'chrysolite' in the article. It described US exposure guidelines, which were lowered from 5 million to 2 million particles per cubic foot of air in 1968. The author cited earlier work by Hammond (1966), which reported a lung cancer risk 53 times the general population's level for people with both persistent asbestos exposure and smoking. It then described US court rulings and litigation costs, stating that only 39% of a successful claim reached victims. The author argued that mounting evidence of hazard had long been ignored. The author concluded that it was unreasonable for reinsurers and Lloyds 'names' to be held liable for others' failures. The author also noted that an essay on one hazard may make it seem more prominent than it merits.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review and commentary (described by the author as an essay); no original data
• Who was studied: No study population. The author reviewed accounts from antiquity, published medical literature from 1898 onward, US court cases, judicial reports and insurance issues.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, with the article describing blue asbestos (crocidolite), amosite and white asbestos (called 'chrysolite' in the article)
• Main results:
  • The author recounted that the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists lowered its suggested threshold limit in 1968 from 5 million to 2 million particles per cubic foot of air
  • Citing Hammond (1966), not this article's own data: lung cancer risk was about 5 times expected with asbestos exposure alone, probably 11 times with smoking alone, and 53 times the general population's level with persistent asbestos exposure plus smoking
  • The author stated that, because of the high cost of US litigation, only 39% of a successful claim was eventually paid to victims
  • The author described a ruling by Judge Ira Brown Jr in the San Francisco Asbestos Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings that each insurer of the claimant over the exposure period was jointly and severally responsible for the total claim
  • The author argued that mounting evidence of industrial hazard had long been ignored
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that it was unreasonable for reinsurers, and especially Lloyds 'names', to be held liable when manufacturers and primary insurers had failed in their duties. The author also posed a series of unresolved questions about insurers' liability.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author noted that an essay focused on one industrial hazard may make that hazard seem more prominent than it merits
  • The author noted that it is impossible to say exactly when knowledge of the hazard became established among those concerned

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

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