The case set a short-lived precedent that, for this very limited set of mesothelioma claimants, duty holders should compensate according the degree of risk.
Evidence from:
Barker v Corus (UK) plc [2006] UKHL 20
The precedent was active until the Compensation Act 2006, which removed the possibility of compensation being reduced by a lack of insurance for any given period of exposure. However, Barker remains the leading precedent in those jurisdictions which adopt UK common law but which have their own regulatory system and have not adopted the Compensation Act 2006.
Further challenges to the legal fiction behind Fairchild are very likely.
Further detail: