Compensation payouts to thousands of asbestos victims are likely to be significantly reduced following a House of Lords ruling today.

The law lords upheld three appeals by manufacturers arguing that companies should only be responsible for part of the compensation costs owed to people who had worked at more than one company.

Victims of asbestos diseases who were exposed to the fibres in more than one workplace had previously been able to sue each of their employers for the full value of their compensation.

Today's ruling means the court-agreed compensation payouts will be divided between the employers according to how long the victim was exposed to asbestos while working for them.

It was greeted with dismay by asbestos disease campaigners, with Phyllis Baker, of Clydeside Action on Asbestos, describing it as "absolutely outrageous".

"People are dying of this horrendous condition and it's through employers' negligence," she said. "If three people kick someone to death, the three of them will be charged with murder and they won't each receive one-third of a sentence.

"Every employer should be fully responsible for the people who work for them."

Around 1,900 people die from asbestos diseases in the UK each year. The most dangerous forms of asbestos were banned in Britain in 1985, with the less harmful chrysotile banned in 1999.

The lead case concerned the widow of Vernon Barker, who died in 1996 at the age of 57. He had worked at a steelworks in Deeside, Scotland.

Three years ago, Sylvia Barker was awarded £152,000 by the high court, with the steelmaker Corus ordered to pay the sum.

However, the court will now have to reassess the damages claim to take account of the fact Mr Barker had been exposed to asbestos while working for another company and while self-employed.

The appeal also covered the cases of Mary Murray, who was awarded £45,000 in 2004 over the death of her shipyard worker husband John, and James Patterson, whose was awarded £40,000 in the same year over the death of his father John, a dock worker.

The appeals were granted four to one by the law lords.

Derek Simpson, the general secretary of the manufacturing union Amicus, said there was "no justice" in the decision.

"Thousands of people exposed to asbestos, and their families, have been denied the right to be compensated fully by negligent employers, who in some cases have killed employees through asbestos exposure," he said.