Asbestos sufferers ‘disowned’ by government decision
Monday, 1st March 2010
The government’s refusal to overturn a ruling regarding compensation for thousands of asbestos victims will “abandon” the country’s workforce, says union officials.
Law Lords denied compensation for pleural plaques sufferers who made claims after 2007 and unions were confident that the government would overturn the decision this week after strong campaigning from both officials and the media.
But the Justice Secretary Jack Straw has upheld the decision which will see sufferers handed just £5,000 in compensation from taxpayers’ pockets, leaving insurers unaccountable for hefty payouts.
Mr Straw said that on the basis of medical evidence, received during consultation into the ruling, the government was unable to conclude that the Law Lords’ decision should be changed or that an open-ended compensation scheme should be established.
"The government's decision is disappointing - most pleural plaques victims are being abandoned,” said Ucatt General Secretary, Alan Ritchie.
Controversially, sufferers living in England and Wales will only receive payouts if they filed their claim before 2007, while those in Scotland are unaffected by the 2007 ruling after it was overturned by Scottish Parliament.
“It is simply wrong that an accident of geography will mean that pleural plaques victims in England and Wales will be barred from receiving compensation but those in Scotland will be free to claim full compensation," added Mr Ritchie.
Mr Straw has been accused of bending to insurer’s complaints regarding the ruling, which would have cost the industry billions in compensation payouts.
Pleural plaques are common amongst those who have worked heavily with asbestos-based materials in the past. Causing scaring of the lungs, sufferers are often unaware of the condition due to its asymptomatic nature but struggle with debilitating diseases, such as mesothelioma, which result in painful deaths in their later years.
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