Jim Sheridan, Scottish Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire was involved in a debate in Parliament on 23 January 2008 about compensation for pleural plaques victims.
The passionate debate arose in relation to proposed legislation in Scotland to reverse the House of Lord’s decision of 2007 in the case of Johnston v NEI International Combustion Ltd.
Pleural plaques are a scarring of the lungs known to only be caused by heavy asbestos exposure. They often show up on x-ray scans when other medical matters are being investigated. Although in the vast majority of cases they do not cause any physical symptoms, they undoubtedly cause sufferers significant anxiety and concern, in some cases leading to psychiatric conditions.
In the Johnston case last year the House of Lords ruled that pleural plaques sufferers should not be entitled to any compensation despite 20 years of legal precedence in the UK for claimants recovering modest sums, such as £4,000 and £5,000.
Following the Lord’s judgement on 17th October 2007, the UK Government was swift to dispel talk of legislation to reverse the House of Lord’s decision with Bridget Prentice stating that “the Government have decided that it would not be appropriate to legislate on the issue”. However, Ministers north of the border took a very different view with the Scottish National Administration pledging to introduce legislation to allow pleural plaques claims to proceed.
Asbestos campaigners in England are hopeful that the movements in Scotland will echo southwards to the benefit of English asbestos victims. As yet, the Government has remained tight-lipped, but the campaign is gathering force and Leigh Day & Co is encouraging clients and interested parties to sign the
petition to 10 Downing Street in relation to this issue.
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