Endowments - Latest News 07 January 2009

New bill to help asbestos victims- 23/06/2008[top]

Anyone in Scotland who contracts an asbestos-related condition called pleural plaques will be entitled to raise a personal injury action if a new bill goes through, according to the Scotsman.

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill is to unveil the bill at Holyrood, in a ruling that could aid former shipyard workers and other people who suffer from diseases such as mesothelioma.

The move contradicts a House of Lords ruling last year that stated pleural plaques, a scarring of the lungs, is not a disease so sufferers were not entitled to personal injury compensation unless they proceeded to contract a more serious condition.

A Scottish government spokesman told the newspaper: "The justice secretary has already made clear the Scottish government's determination to reverse the House of Lords judgement and ensure that people with pleural plaques can continue to raise an action for damages.

"It is right that those who suffer the effects of asbestos as a result of our industrial past are able to claim for damages and we will introduce a bill before recess as we promised to right this wrong."

Mesothelioma is a growing problem, with a Health and Safety Executive report revealing it caused 2,037 deaths in 2005, compared to 153 in 1968.

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