Four heirs of Drydocks employee who died from cancer in 1988 contracted after years of exposure to asbestos, have been awarded €30,000 by way of moral damages by a civil court.

The children of pipe worker Andrew Psaila filed proceedings before the civil court in its constitutional jurisdiction against the Chief Medical Officer, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and the Attorney General claiming that their father's right to life had been violated and that they had suffered the loss.

The court, presided by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, heard how Mr Psaila had worked at the Drydocks for 30 years - from 1959 up to his death in 1988. He developed a malignant form of cancer caused exclusively due to exposure to asbestos.

During that period, asbestos was a 'staple material ' used abundantly at the Drydocks and no 'effective controls' were applied, the court observed. This was in spite of the fact that it had long been scientifically proven that this material was linked to cancer, leading to possible death.

The court declared that the right to life, as safeguarded by the Constitution as well as by the European Convention on Human Rights, did not simply prohibit the taking away of life. This fundamental right imposed an obligation upon the state to ensure that human life was not in any way threatened, the court remarked.

The court concluded that the authorities had failed to update the law in such a manner as to reflect scientific innovation and knowledge regarding the harmful and possibly fatal effects of asbestos.

It condemned the Chief Medical Officer and the Attorney General to pay €30,000 by way of compensation to the applicants. The OHSA was declared non suited.