Asbestos claimants awarded £5,000 each

The government earlier this week (August 2nd) opened up its Pleural Plaques Claimants Payment Scheme for applications from people who suffered work-related illness while they were employed.

Pleural plaques are the result of asbestos-related illness and can often be found in people who have been employed in workplaces such as coal and slate mines. The complaint involves localised areas of fibrosis within a region of the lung.

Back in October 2007, it was decided by the law lords to uphold a call made by the Court of Appeal which stated that having this illness does not warrant a worker to make a claim for compensation under civil law.

However, the Ministry of Justice - which is one of the UK's largest governmental departments with an annual budget of some £9.2 billion - has decided that people who made claims for such health issues prior to the October 2007 decision being finalised will be awarded one-off damages of £5,000 each.

Posted by Craig Williams
 

04/08/2010 16:09