Lawyer’s Disappointment as Government Upholds Ban on Pleural Plaques Claims
25/02/2010
A leading industrial illness solicitor has criticised the Government’s decision not to overturn a Law Lords ruling that prevents pleural plaques sufferers from claiming the compensation that they deserve.
Alida Coates, a leading asbestos illness partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell, believes that Justice Secretary Jack Straw has left thousands of suffers “out in the cold” after he announced that he would not change a Law Lords ruling of 2007 that denies suffers of pleural plaques from making a compensation claim.
Compensation claims for pleural plaques, a scarring of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure, were refused in 2007 after a Law Lords ruling deemed the condition not to be a disease in itself, despite intensive campaigning against the decision.
Ms Coates claimed that the decision was a blow for thousands of sufferers and that the government had taken too long to make a decision.
“Victims and their families need help but all they have been given is three years of discussions. Now a decision has been reached and while it is encouraging for anybody whose condition pre-dates 2007, it leaves the rest out in the cold,” she said.
However, Ms Coates did welcome the commitment of £3million worth of investment into a research centre for fatal asbestos-related diseases.
She added: “We have been campaigning for a National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases for years now and it is excellent news to see the Government is seriously attempting to provide support to sufferers of fatal asbestos-related conditions.
“However, as broadly welcome as this announcement is, the devil will, as always, be in the detail – it will be interesting to see how these plans develop, and how quickly. The development of this centre should be a matter of priority and sufferers of fatal asbestos-related diseases should not be made to wait any more for state support.
“It’s unacceptable that anyone should be left with a fatal illness because their health was not protected at work – and we will fight for justice for each and every one of our clients who are the victims of this dreadful disease.”
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