A French company is hoping to limit the extent of asbestos-related compensation payments with a special appeal to the British House of Lords. St Gobain Pipelines, the legal successor to the former Shotten Steelworks, is calling for a change of law that will allow the costs of mesothelioma and other cancers to be apportioned between all companies that a victim worked for. At present the full costs can be attributed to just one employer, even if the worker could have been exposed to asbestos at several worksites.

Lawyers say the change would reduce overall payouts, because a portion of many claims would fall on companies that are no longer operating and whose insurance details are impossible to determine.

The appeal comes shortly after another blow to the legion of workers exposed to asbestos during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. In January, the British Court of Appeal ruled people suffering from pleural plaques were no longer eligible for compensation. This condition involves a thickening of the lung lining, but judges ruled it is not an impairment to general body functions.