Pleural plaques consultation paper

Until 2007 the Courts awarded damages to asbestos sufferers with pleural plaques. This was stopped by a House of Lords decision. The Government have now published a consultation paper to consider reinstating some compensation for people suffering from pleural plaques.

The consultation paper was published on 9 July. The consultation will end on 1 October and the Government will publish their response by the end of November.

The Government estimate the number of people who will develop pleural plaques in future at between 200,000 and 1.25 million people.

There are about 6,500 people with pleural plaques whose cases have been halted due to the change in the law. There are a further 4,500 people who were diagnosed with pleural plaques before the change in the law but who have not started a claim.

Before the House of Lords judgment the Courts would award either between £12,500 and £20,000 as a full and final settlement or between £5,000 and £7,000 leaving open the possibility of returning to Court for further compensation if another asbestos related disease should develop in future.

The options to be discussed are:

Do nothing, leaving pleural plaque sufferers without compensation.
Run an awareness campain to reassure sufferers of pleural plaques.
Legislate to reinstate pleural plaques as a compensatable injury. Effectively reversing the House of Lords decision.
Introduce a no fault compensation scheme.

To reinstate the right to a civil claim would ensure full compensation and very importantly ensure that sufferers of pleural plaques are able to settle their claims in a way which would allow them to return to Court for further compensation should they develop other asbestos related conditions. The cost to the insurance industry is estimated at between £3,670 million and £28,640 million. To this must be added the additional compensation that would be paid for people who developed other asbestos related conditions.

Two possible no fault compensation schemes are being considered. The first for people who were diagnosed with pleural plaques before the House of Lords decision and the second for sufferers of pleural plaques both past and future. A compensation payment of £5,000 is suggested when both the condition of pleural plaques is diagnosed and a working history in contact with asbestos is demonstrated. The cost of compensating all outstanding and future sufferers of pleural plaques is estimated at between £768 million and £4,667 million. It is suggested that the costs would be met by both the insurance industry and Government in a ratio to reflect responsibility for pleural plaques.

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