Government announcment - asbestos pleural plaques

The Government has announced that it will not reverse the Law Lords decision which ended compensation for pleural plaques.

Instead, the Government is willing to pay a £5,000 lump sum under an extra-statutory scheme only to those who already had claims lodged at the time of the Law Lord’s ruling in 2007. Thousands of current sufferers and future sufferers will receive nothing. An information telephone line will be available and the number will be published on the Ministry of Justice web site.

Many pleural plaques sufferers will not understand, or accept, this distinction which favours some suffers above others.

Mr. Molyneux, diagnosed with pleural plaques, sums up the anger felt by many suffers: “I was wrongly exposed to asbestos for many years and have seen the effect it has had on so many people who have died from mesothelioma. The asbestos fibres lodged in my lungs, causing pleural plaques, signal a heightened risk that I too may suffer serious consequences. I have to live with that and so do hundreds of others. Can the Government live with its decision today to compensate some but not others?”

The Government says it has lessened the impact of its announcement on pleural plaques by making significant changes to payments of compensation to asbestos victims, and by addressing the needs of many asbestos victims suffering life-threatening diseases. The Forum welcomes these important initiatives which address long-standing problems for asbestos victims.

Jason Addy, of the Save Spodden Valley Campaign, said: "It is a bitter sweet partial victory for some asbestos victims. The cross party campaign for justice continues".

Tony Whitston, Greater Manchester Asbestos Victim Support Group Chairman, says: “We are terribly disappointed that the Government will not ensure that a payment is made to all pleural plaques sufferers. However, we wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s initiatives to significantly improve compensation for asbestos victims, especially mesothelioma sufferers, which will make a significant difference to many asbestos victims. We have also wholeheartedly welcomed the Government’s consultation on setting up an employers’ liability insurance fund of last resort. We welcome the decision to seek ways in which to support research, but we are disappointed that the Government have not agreed to fund a National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases at this time.”