The US Supreme Court has narrowly ruled in favour of the right of the ‘worried well’ to bring asbestos-related claims, thwarting hopes that it would back recent moves to stem the litigation culture in the US.
In a case that has been closely followed on both sides of the Atlantic, the court ruled in favour of railway workers’ claims to recover damages to compensate them for the fear of developing cancer where they had not yet developed the disease although they had showed signs of unrelated lung scarring, or asbestosis.
