Court upholds Scots pleural plaques payouts

Court upholds Scots pleural plaques payouts

Insurers have lost a legal bid to overturn a law in Scotland giving victims of an asbestos-related condition the right to claim damages. Unions welcomed the Court of Session decision to uphold the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act in 2009. It allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a usually benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims. Insurers argued the law was "flawed" but the Court of Session upheld the Scottish parliament's decision to allow payouts. Some of the biggest names in the insurance industry opposed the Damages Act, passed in March 2009. The law had already overturned in Scotland a landmark House of Lords ruling that people with pleural plaques cannot claim compensation. During scrutiny of the legislation, the Scottish government estimated that costs were likely to peak between £7m and £19m in the next decade. The insurance industry had claimed the costs over the next 20 years would average between £76m and £607m. STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: 'We welcome this judgment and would sincerely hope that the insurance industry will now accept that the introduction of this legislation was entirely within the competence of the Scottish parliament and now begin to pay compensation to those suffering from pleural plaques.' George Guy, acting general secretary of construction union UCATT, said the UK government should follow Scotland's lead. 'It is morally unjustifiable that the vast majority of pleural plaques victims in England and Wales continue to be denied compensation,' he said. 'Employers who knew the dangers needlessly exposed workers to asbestos. All victims deserve compensation regardless of where they live.'

STUC news release. UCATT news release. Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release. BBC News Online.