Pleural Plaques Sufferers - a ray of light?
There have been recent reports in various newspapers that the Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, is to announce a new package for asbestos sufferers, including a potential one-off payment for people suffering from pleural plaques.
There are newspaper reports that the Government will allow £5k for those people who have suffered from pleural plaques and have 'commenced legal proceedings' in respect of those injuries.
However, the phrase 'commenced legal proceedings' in this context remains ambiguous and it may exclude the majority of pleural plaques sufferers from receiving a payment. In the absence of an official statement from the Government, we cannot be sure as to who will be eligible for such a payout but it seems extremely unlikely that it will allow all pleural plaques sufferers to claim compensation.
The same newspapers also announced that the Government will present a £70m package to the Trade Unions, which will include a research facility for the studying of asbestos injuries. Again, without any official statement from the Government it is difficult to speculate what else the 'package' contains and how or whether this will affect the rights of those people suffering from pleural plaques.
We will update this website as soon as the Government's proposals are announced.
If you have any queries or would like to speak to a member of our specialist team of industrial disease lawyers you can contact us on 0800 884 0718 or at advice@industrialdiseaselawyers.com.
Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a
non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems
we recommend that professional advice be sought.
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