Pleural Plaques review

01/09/2008

By Jennifer Hawkes, Trainee Legal Executive in Chemical Poisoning & Asbestos.

So where are we now?

The House of Lords Judgment appeared to hint that there may be a glimmer of hope for claimants who could seek to bring an action for breach of contract against their former employer instead of a claim based on negligence. However, because of the six year limitation period in a claim for breach of contract the majority of pleural plaques claims would be out of time. Since October there have been various rumours of a change in the law to allow claimants to obtain compensation for pleural plaques. There were reports of campaigns and lobbying by interest groups and unions.

On 13 March 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was quoted as saying “…on pleural plaques, we are looking at the matter at this very moment. We are determined to take some action”. The Scottish Government has recently published the Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill. If approved, the Bill will reverse the House of Lords' decision and legislate to allow victims of pleural plaques (as well as those with asymptomatic pleural thickening and asbestosis) to claim compensation. The UK Government has now published a consultation paper regarding the future of pleural plaques claims. The consultation paper can be found on The Ministry of Justice website and closes on 1 October 2008. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is preparing their response and encouraging others to do the same.