Pictured: Alida Coates
A leading Midlands industrial illness lawyer says 'common sense'
has prevailed after a UK Supreme Court ruling on 12th October means
Scottish sufferers of an asbestos-related condition can continue to
claim damages.
However, in England and Wales, plaques sufferers will never be
allowed to claim damages for their condition.
Several leading insurers had continued to appeal against the
Damages Act, passed at Holyrood in March 2009, which enabled people
with pleural plaques, a thickening of lung membranes, to claim
compensation.
Alida Coates, a Partner who specialises in asbestos-related
disease from Irwin Mitchell's Birmingham office, welcomed the
decision.
She said: "We strongly welcome this decision which will allow
sufferers of Pleural Plaques in Scotland to continue to seek
justice against their former employers.
"Although it will come as a great relief to many of our Scottish
clients who are suffering from pleural plaques, this has created a
postcode lottery for asbestos claimants - a two-tier justice system
that benefits those in Scotland but has left those in England and
Wales high and dry, with no chance of them ever being to be allowed
to claim damages."
Pleural Plaques is a thickening of the lining of the lungs and
is caused by exposure to asbestos - although it is a benign
condition, it is frequently likened to a 'calling card' - it proves
the affected person has been exposed to asbestos and there is a
lifetime risk that a more serious asbestos-induced condition, such
as Mesothelioma, may develop in the future.