The Federal court decided two cases in connection with the limitation of claims for damages and satisfaction of claims of heirs of victims of asbestos. A complaint was due to the expiration of the absolute limitation period, the other partly good.

In the first case, the victim lived during his childhood and youth time, around eleven years in Niederurnen GL in the immediate vicinity of the factory area of the Eternit AG. The 1953-born man received in the year 2004, the diagnosis of pleural cancer. In 2006, he died. This is evident from the on Friday published judgment of the Federal court.

The heirs of the deceased made their satisfaction of claims against the Eternit Schweiz AG 2009. The Federal court has now held that the time between the last exposure to asbestos and the assertion of 37 years. Thus, the absolute limitation period from the current ten years had expired.

1. January 2020, the limitation period for personal injury for 20 years. This new law has no retroactive effect clause. Cases in which, because of the current limitation period of ten years, claims no longer can be claimed, to be collected by the Foundation compensation Fund for asbestos victims.

the thing with The limitation period

In the second case, the Federal court has decided is unclear as to when the limitation period began to run. The victim was a 1936-born man who worked from 1961 until the end of January 1998, the BLS and asbestos dust was exposed to. In 2003, it was noted at his chest fur cancer. A year later, the man died.

His heirs made their claims to the BLS 2010 to claim it. The Bernese justice dismissed the actions. The Supreme court held that the intense exposure to asbestos between 1961 and 1985, had taken place. Thus, the ten-year limitation period to 1985, have begun to run.

Required protective measures

The Federal court comes to a different conclusion. It holds a liability of the BLS requires, among other things, that the company will have measures in place to protect the employee, and the state would have been under the former need-to-know. The question of whether and when such a breach of duty by the BLS, there had been, from the slopes of the commencement of the limitation period.

Decisive is the time of the injurious behavior, writes the Federal court. The behavior continues, it is crucial, when this stops. In the case of the former BLS employees, the Federal court assumes that the man was suspended until the end of his employment to asbestos.

Should not have taken the BLS already before 1998, required protection measures, would begin to run, the limitation period only then to. This point needs to check the Bernese Oberland court again and then the Statute of limitations question are located. (judgments 4A_299/2013 and 4A_554/2013 from the 06.11.2019)
(fal/sda)

Created: 22.11.2019, 12:14 PM