The Scottish Parliament has passed legislation ensuring that people negligently exposed to asbestos and diagnosed with pleural plaques or other asymptomatic asbestos diseases will still to be able to raise an action for damages. The Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill which overturns the House of Lords judgment in the Johnston case was passed by a margin of 98 to 16. No date has yet been set for when the Bill will come into effect. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has taken legal advice and is considering a judicial review.
Daniel Easton, a partner in the personal injury department at Leigh Day & Co who specialises in industrial diseases claims, including asbestos-related cases, comments:
"The Scottish Parliament's progressive step is a refreshing and welcome acknowledgement of the fact that asbestos victims must be compensated for the wrongs committed by their former employers and others who exposed them to asbestos. Leigh Day & Co actively participated in the government's recent consultation on this issue and strongly advocated following the Scottish lead with a return to the status quo of compensating pleural plaques victims in England and Wales. Given that residents of Gordon Brown's constituency can now claim compensation for pleural plaques, it is high time that the English parliament grants the same rights to those south of the border."
For more information please contact
Daniel Easton on 020 7650 1200.
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