Government Asbestos Compensation Scheme
Pleural Plaques and the Prime Minister
Recent reports suggest Prime Minister Gordon Brown is ready to make his support known on the Asbestos Related disease Pleural Plaques.
It is expected that the decision will be clarified in April.
The main stumbling block is that insurers are unhappy to pay damages for a disease that according to them shows little or no symptoms. This may be true but the fact Pleural Plaques have been diagnosed will probably cause the sufferer mental torture as it is a firm indicator that an asbestos exposure has taken place. With that in mind it may well be a calling card for the more serious asbestos related diseases such as Pleural Thickening, Asbestosis, Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma. Ignoring the mental strain of those diagnosed with pleural plaques suffer is unacceptable and irresponsible, two traits which should not be associated with insurance companies.
Perhaps the companies liability rests mostly to it’s shareholders than with those that it has been paid to protect. So let us hope the government see sense and reinstate the claim UK wide. In Scotland it is possible to claim damages for Pleural Plaques after a big majority vote in Holyrood, but this does not apply in England and Wales.
As the number of asbestos related diseases come to a head, experts believe that this will be between 2014-2018 it should be of major importance that the UK government has an even handed approach to claiming compensation whatever the location of the sufferer.
Campaigning looks to have gained a positive result and the ‘postcode lottery’ for this type of illness looks set to be ended. It is not known at this stage if compensation will be through individual claim or via a scheme.
For update information about claiming compensation for Pleural Plaques and other Asbestos Related Diseases visit the site: www.asbestosiscompensationclaims.co.uk
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