The heirs of a dockyard worker who died of cancer after being exposed to asbestos at his place of work have been awarded €18,000 as moral damages by a court for breach of his right to life.

The case was instituted in the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction by James and Dorothy Fenech against the Chief Government Medical Officer and the Attorney General.

The Fenech siblings successfully argued that their father's fundamental right to life was breached when he had to retire early and died aged 55 in 1997 after having suffered malignant mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos at his place of work. They pleaded that the authorities had failed to protect their father and warn him of the dangers of asbestos.

The AG and the CGMO denied the charges against them. They argued that as soon as the Maltese government became aware of the consequences of exposure to asbestos it took the appropriate measures, including legislative changes to protect dockyard workers and also householders who used asbestos as an insulation material in their properties. 

The court heard how Joseph Fenech's widow and her two children had sued the dockyard for compensation. The court had found the dockyard responsible for Mr Fenech's untimely death and ordered it to pay the family compensation of  €103,114.37, a decision subsequently confirmed on appeal in 2010.

The Fenechs then filed the current case in 2017. 

In its findings, the court referred to current evidence and to other cases and said it was clear that despite knowing about the dangerous consequences of asbestos, the authorities were slow to react.

The rights of the applicants had been breached because as soon as the symptoms of their father's disease became known their life was changed significantly, both financially and emotionally.

The court, presided by Mr Justice Joseph R Micallef, therefore found that their rights and those of their father as safeguarded by article 33 of the Constitution and article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights were breached.

The court therefore awarded the family non-pecuniary damages of €18,000. 

Lawyer Juliette Galea represented the family.