The only purpose of such lawsuits in any country is getting the compensation for the injury caused by asbestos exposure. In Europe there are a few sources of such compensation:

• social security system that protects workers
• products liability
• employer’s liability

Insurance covers all possible damages for workers, no matter how they were obtained and who is guilty. Everything depends on the insurance plan. The other two sources require filing an asbestos lawsuit where a plaintiff suffering from an asbestos-related injury attempts to prove the employer’s negligence. Often social security system tries to shift the responsibility for compensating such damages on insurance companies. If there is no way to receive compensation from the insurance (if your plan doesn’t cover such cases), tort law is the option for the most of European countries. Insurance mostly covers the health damage, and in case of asbestos-related damage it is not always the matter of claim.

European no-fault system causes various complications in the process of getting compensations for the victims of asbestos exposure. Not all damages can be paid off. For instance, pain and suffering are not under the damages that the general sources wish or can pay off. The occupational diseases (the ones that workers get at their workplace) are compensated by different health insurance programs that cover various health problems. The solution for cases that do not allow such compensation is suing an employer. Such lawsuits are practiced in Italy.

European legislation regarding asbestos injury and diseases changes, and any change involves the moves between different sources of compensation. It is a complex system of legislation, politics, medical sphere and labor organizations. The most generous source is definitely insurance. It provides payments that satisfy the demands of the exposure victims, and there is no need to file a time and money consuming asbestos lawsuit. The international insurance companies admit weak activity among European clients for asbestos exposure conditions. Compared with the USA very few cases are processed.

Due to the specificity of asbestos action onto the organism, the problem of retroactive claim often takes place. It may take 20, 30 or even more years until the first symptoms of asbestos-related disease appear after a person was exposed to it. As a rule the statute of limitation doesn’t begin to run until a person gets the approval of having a compensable disease. But in some case it causes problems, depending on the legislation of a specific country. It is often a doubt what exposed policy exactly must be applied and what size of compensation to pay for the claimant. Insurance companies have a variety of solutions, and here a claimant can lose a part of his potential compensation.

While in some other countries like the USA the responsibility for paying compensations for asbestos-related injuries is put upon the law and companies who produce or use asbestos, in Europe this role is given to insurance companies. The no-guilt system implies resolving such cases without finding a guilty party. In such a way employers are free from any responsibility. Now this approach is evolving into new system, and the number of lawsuits constantly grows.