In December 2011, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg accepted the case of an asbestos victim against his place of employment, Alstom Schweiz, and Suva, the biggest Swiss accident insurance company, on the grounds that both had been remiss in their monitoring duty.
From 1966 to 1978, the worker had been exposed to asbestos in his workplace. He died in 2005 of cancer of the pleura. His daughters have taken up the case against his employer. It was rejected by both the cantonal justice authorities and the Swiss Federal Court on the grounds that demands for compensation expire in Switzerland 10 years after harm is suffered. This statute of limitations prevents all payment of damages and interest, since all asbestos-related diseases - asbestose and cancer of the pleura or lung - usually do not declare themselves until at least 15 years after exposure. This case is, actually, one of the employee against Switzerland and its 10-year statute of limitations. The defendant's lawyer, David Husmann, expects a judgement within the next two years. (Ref: article from Journal de l'environnement, translated from French by the Editor of this blog.)
Dying from asbestos… and having to prove it
by Daniele Mariani, swissinfo.ch, 6 February 2012
The number of cases of illness due to asbestos is on the rise, with hundreds of deaths expected in Switzerland in the next years.
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