Asbestos Consultation Must Not Be An Unnecessary Delay For Victims

The announcement that the Government are intending some form of consultation on overturning the Law Lords decision on pleural plaques has been greeted with concern by construction union UCATT and asbestos campaigners.

On Wednesday during Prime Minister’s Question Time the Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed that the Government was “looking at the matter” and a “consultation document would be published soon”

Last October the Law Lords overturned 30 years of common law when they ruled that pleural plaques (scarring of the lungs caused by heavy and long term breathing in of asbestos) was no longer compensatable. It is argued that pleural plaques are physically sympotomless, sufferers experience extreme mental problems including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders and morbid overrating problems. One in seven of people diagnosed with pleural plaques will later develop the fatal lung cancer mesothelioma

Compensation payments for pleural plaque suffers were just a few thousand pounds but it meant that the insurers of the company responsible for injuring them had been identified. If a victim then developed mesothelioma, compensation for that disease could be paid in the 12-15 months they victim has left to live. It is estimated that the insurance companies expect to save over £1 billion due to the Law Lords decision

Asbestos campaigners had hoped that the Government would act swiftly to simply overturn the Law Lords decision. UCATT have been running a postcard campaign calling for the Government to act in this manner.

UCATT believe that if there is to be a consultation then it must be over a short time period and should be grounded on the understanding that the Government will introduce fresh legislation, in order to ensure that pleural plaque sufferers are compensated and their insurers are traced.

It is felt that a lengthy consultation process will mean that thousands of pleural plaque victims will face further delays before they can claim compensation. Sadly some of these will also develop mesothelioma and die not knowing if their family will have some financial security after their death. Equally it is feared that the omnipotent insurance industry will mount an expensive lobbying exercise to minimise Government legislation.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “Last year the Law Lords, delivered a cruel attack on thousands of ordinary work people, made ill by callous employers. While I appreciate that the Government is now looking seriously at the matter, we need swift action. The clock is ticking for asbestos victims.”

Mick Clapham MP, chair of the UCATT parliamentary group and the leading parliamentarian on asbestos issues, said: “Any movement from the Government is to be welcomed. However, we must ensure that this matter is not endlessly delayed by interminable consultations and committees.”

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