Seven out of ten asbestos compensation claims are rejected

At this time, there is no specific parliamentary initiative (bill or draft law, neither in the Congress nor in the Senate) in the General Courts aimed at amending Law 21/2022 to expand the pathologies covered by the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims (FCVA). The current regulation of the fund and the covered pathologies is being implemented through executive means, via the already approved law and its regulatory development, not through an ongoing parliamentary reform.

1. Current regulatory framework in force

The FCVA was created by Law 21/2022, of October 19, establishing a compensation fund for asbestos victims, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on October 20, 2022 (text in the BOE). This law:

• Defines the purpose of the fund (full reparation of health damages caused by asbestos exposure, in occupational, domestic, or environmental settings).
• Establishes the beneficiaries and the general financing and management scheme of the fund.
• Provides for the creation of a Monitoring Commission, which among other functions can advise on “pathologies, assessment criteria, and compensation amounts,” and propose improvements based on the evolution of such pathologies.

Law 21/2022 itself was partially amended by Law 3/2023, of February 28, but these modifications are already incorporated into the consolidated text cited in the BOE. That reform is fully approved and in force; it is not an open procedure.

The key regulatory development is Royal Decree 483/2025, of June 17, “establishing the requirements and regulating the procedure to recognize the right to economic compensation for asbestos victims,” published in the BOE on June 18, 2025 (BOE 18‑06‑2025). In this royal decree:

• It specifies who the beneficiaries are, with different access routes depending on the situation (prior recognition of professional contingency pension, final court rulings, diagnosis after occupational, domestic, or environmental exposure, etc.).
• It refers to an annex of pathologies (Annex II of the royal decree) listing asbestos-related diseases that entitle compensation and establishes the applicable assessment scale.
• It regulates the procedure to certify pathologies, the role of evaluation teams, and the processing and review of compensations.

Before this royal decree, a public hearing was held on a similar regulatory draft (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations file from 2023), but that process is now closed and replaced by the 2025 approved regulation.

2. Is there an ongoing “parliamentary reform” on the list of pathologies?

A search in the parliamentary database shows no bill or draft law currently in process specifically referring to the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims or the expansion of the list of covered pathologies.

There are various initiatives concerning victims in other areas (terrorism victims, railway accident victims, etc.), but none of those underway refer to the FCVA or modify Law 21/2022 or Royal Decree 483/2025. Nor is there a reform encapsulated in another sectoral law in process.

Consequently, as of today:

• There is no open parliamentary file in the General Courts aimed at expanding the fund’s pathology catalog.
• The current framework consists of Law 21/2022 (with the already approved amendments) and Royal Decree 483/2025, which specifies the pathologies through its annex.
• Any expansion of the pathology list could, in principle, be done by regulatory means (modifying the royal decree or its annexes), without necessarily requiring a law if elements reserved for legal rank are not altered.

3. How to interpret this from a parliamentary perspective

From the parliamentary status viewpoint, the situation is as follows:

• The law creating the fund (Law 21/2022) is fully approved and in force; there is no reform in process regarding its provisions related to pathologies.
• The regulatory development specifying the pathologies (Royal Decree 483/2025) is a government regulation, already promulgated and also in force; it does not go through an ordinary legislative procedure in the Courts.
• Until a new bill or draft law explicitly mentioning the expansion of FCVA pathologies is registered and admitted, only political or social debate can be spoken of, but not a parliamentary reform in the amendment, committee, report, or second chamber phase.

Therefore, to the specific question “What is the parliamentary status of the reform to expand the pathologies covered by the FCVA?”, the answer is that there is currently no such reform in parliamentary process; the expansion or review of pathologies is currently channeled through regulatory means and the monitoring functions provided in the law itself.

The National Social Security Institute (INSS) is the body responsible for the management and recognition of economic benefits of the system, including those derived from occupational diseases. Although in practice collaborating mutual insurance companies and other bodies (such as the Labor Inspectorate) also intervene, the core legal competence over the “right to the benefit” corresponds to the INSS.

1. Recognition of the right to the benefit

The most relevant competence of the INSS is to determine whether the worker has or does not have the right to compensation or economic benefit for an occupational disease:

• Qualification of the contingency: decides whether the pathology is considered an occupational disease, work accident, or common illness, based on the official list of occupational diseases, work history, and medical reports.
• Determination of the protected situation: verifies that legal requirements are met (active employment or equivalent status, contributions when applicable, causal relationship with work, etc.).
• Motivated recognition or denial: issues an administrative resolution recognizing, modifying, or denying the benefit, with economic effects from the corresponding date.

2. Calculation, amount, and type of benefits

Once the occupational disease is recognized, the INSS assumes competence over the calculation of the economic benefit and its configuration:

• Calculation of the regulatory base: sets the base on which the amount is determined, based on contribution bases and the type of benefit (temporary disability, partial permanent disability, total, absolute, severe disability, widow’s pension, orphanhood, etc.).
• Determination of the applicable percentage: applies the percentages set by law according to the degree of disability or type of benefit (pension, lump-sum compensation, etc.).
• Updating amounts: applies annual revaluations and reviews as appropriate (for example, due to recognition of a higher degree of disability).

3. Payment and economic management of benefits

Although healthcare and part of the material management of disability due to occupational disease are channeled through mutual insurance companies or health services, the INSS is the main economic manager:

• Recognition of the liable payer: determines whether the INSS, the mutual insurance company, or, if applicable, the company pays directly (for example, in cases of mandatory collaboration).
• Payment of periodic benefits: organizes the monthly payment of pensions and recurring compensations and supervises lump-sum payments.
• Control of concurrency: coordinates payment when there are multiple benefits (for example, pension for occupational disease and other benefits) to avoid incompatibilities or undue collections.

4. Review, control, and termination of benefits

The INSS is also competent for the monitoring and review of benefits for occupational disease:

• Reviews due to improvement or worsening: can review the degree of disability and adjust the benefit (for example, changing from total to absolute disability, or vice versa).
• Ex officio or at the request of a party: acts on its own initiative, the beneficiary’s, or other bodies’ (mutual insurance companies, Labor Inspectorate).
• Termination or suspension of benefits: agrees to termination when the causes that originated it disappear (for example, death, recovery, serious breaches).

5. Coordination with mutual insurance companies and determination of responsibilities

In occupational diseases, the intervention of several entities is common. The INSS:

• Coordinates with mutual insurance companies and prevention services the information about the pathology, risk exposure, and work history.
• Determines the responsible entity for coverage (which mutual or managing entity must bear the cost) when there are doubts or company changes.
• Applies the economic effects of benefit surcharges for lack of safety measures, once the Labor Inspectorate and competent bodies have declared the company’s responsibility.

In summary, the INSS concentrates competence over the legal recognition, quantification, economic management, and review of compensations and benefits derived from occupational diseases, in coordination with mutual insurance companies, health services, and the Labor Inspectorate, which cover healthcare, medical evaluation, and control of preventive compliance by companies.

According to current state regulations, access to asbestos compensation is structured through the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims, created by Law 21/2022, of October 19 (text in BOE) and developed by Royal Decree 483/2025, of June 17, which sets requirements and the procedure for recognizing the right to economic compensation.

1. Legal framework and purpose of the compensation

Law 21/2022 establishes that the Fund’s compensation has an indemnity nature and aims at full reparation of health damages caused by asbestos exposure in Spain, in the occupational, domestic, or environmental spheres. The Fund’s management corresponds to the National Social Security Institute (INSS), funded by the General Treasury of Social Security, and the procedure is processed according to Law 39/2015 on common administrative procedure.

2. Personal and medical requirements (who can be beneficiaries)

Law 21/2022 defines potential beneficiaries as:

• Persons with recognized occupational disease caused by asbestos.
• Persons with disease not recognized as occupational, but whose main or contributing cause can be determined as asbestos exposure.
• Heirs of the above, under terms set by regulation.

However, Royal Decree 483/2025, as noted in various official and regional explanations, has limited in a first phase effective access to a more restricted group:

• Persons with recognition of permanent disability derived from occupational contingency linked to asbestos.
• With certain specific pathologies: mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, or asbestosis with moderate or severe functional impact (as detailed, for example, in the note on Navarra in Infosalus).

For other situations contemplated in the Law (diseases without recognized permanent disability, pathologies other than those listed, or certain heirs), the Royal Decree conditions effective payment on what future State General Budget Laws provide, which in practice delays their full incorporation into the compensation system.

3. Temporal and prescription requirements

According to official information summarized by Demócrata and several autonomous communities, the general prescription period to request Fund compensation is five years.

• Generally, the 5-year period counts from the recognition of the disability.
• If permanent disability was recognized before September 18, 2025 (effective system entry date), the special period to request compensation extends until September 18, 2030.

These prescription criteria are reflected, for example, in the Government of Navarra’s procedure explanation and other regional communications based on Royal Decree 483/2025.

4. Proof of disease and asbestos exposure

Law 21/2022 establishes that the diagnosis, evaluation, and qualification of the disease, as well as the determination of its cause, will be carried out by the evaluation teams determined by regulation. This development has been specified through:

• The creation in each autonomous community of Asbestos Victims Evaluation Teams (EVVA), which analyze clinical history, work trajectory, and environmental exposure.
• The issuance of a certificate of pathologies derived from asbestos exposure, an indispensable requirement to access Fund compensations (as noted, among others, in communications from Navarra and Galicia: note from Xunta de Galicia).

When there is already official recognition of occupational disease, the Law allows the applicant to directly provide that resolution, simplifying proof of exposure.

5. Procedure to request compensation

The procedure has two main linked phases:

• 1) Regional health certification. The affected person must:
  • Request evaluation of their case by the EVVA before the occupational health body of their community.
  • Provide medical reports, clinical history, and data on their work or environmental or domestic exposure trajectory.
  • Obtain the certificate of pathology related to asbestos, usually within a maximum period of several months, according to regional regulations.
• 2) Application to the INSS. With the certificate and other documentation:
  • Submit the compensation application to the National Social Security Institute.
  • Attach the EVVA certificate, permanent disability resolution (if any), and information on other benefits or compensations already recognized.
  • The INSS must resolve and notify within a maximum period of six months. If there is no express resolution, the application is understood as denied by administrative silence, without prejudice to the obligation to resolve.

6. Compatibility and adjustment of amounts

The law provides that when judicial or extrajudicial compensations already exist, the amount charged to the Fund is adjusted to avoid duplications, applying the rules of Royal Decree 483/2025. Additionally, the INSS may subrogate the beneficiary’s rights against companies or other responsible entities, recovering part of the amounts paid.