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Scots go it alone against Lords' asbestos ruling |
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12 March 2008 |
People who suffer from pleural plaques through exposure to asbestos may wonder how united is the United Kingdom after a recent ruling of the highest court in the land.
The House of Lords recently found that pleural plaques should not qualify the sufferer for compensation because they often do not lead to more serious conditions.
People who suffer from pleural plaques through exposure to asbestos may wonder how united is the United Kingdom after a recent ruling of the highest court in the land.
The House of Lords recently found that pleural plaques should not qualify the sufferer for compensation because they often do not lead to more serious conditions. But the Scottish government has announced that it intends to introduce legislation to reverse the Law Lords' ruling for sufferers in Scotland.
Pleural plaques are a scarring on the lungs, a sign of having been in contact with asbestos but which do not in themselves necessarily lead to more serious asbestos-related illnesses.
'Proof of damage is an essential element in a claim in negligence and in my opinion the symptomless plaques are not compensatable,' Lord Hoffmann ruled.
But the ruling is bound to lead to distress according to Simon Davis, a partner with Kester Cunningham John who specializes in asbestos-related cases.
'A diagnosis of pleural plaques can cause real and long lasting worry,' he points out. 'Although in itself the appearance of plaques isn't crucial, it is often the first sign of a more serious and often fatal asbestos-related disease to come.
'Asbestos and its aftermath has been a time bomb ticking ominously for a number of years. About 1,800 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year in Britain, a figure which is rising and will go on increasing for some years, since they have a long gestation period.
''Many think the Lords have misjudged public opinion on the point.'
The move by the Scottish government has been condemned by the Association of British Insurers as 'misguided'. But there is a recent precedent in English law too. When their Lordships ruled that compensation for asbestos-related illnesses should be split between all previous employers who bore responsibility, those who have since gone out of business would not be able to pay and so the claimants would lose part of their compensation.
Within weeks, the Government added provisions to the Compensation Act 2006 to overrule their Lordships and ensure these sufferers were paid in full.
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