An asbestos damages bill has gained significant support in Scotland. Members of Scottish Parliament have had a chance to look over the bill, which proposes compensation for Scots for any past exposure to asbestos. The bill is expected to pass.

The new law would overturn a previous ruling by the House of Lords which stated that damages could not be collected in cases where a person was suffering from pleural plaques. Pleural plaques are a benign scarring of lung tissue. The House of Lords ruled that pleural plaques were not worthy of compensation because of the benign nature of the plaques. While this is true, the plaques can be an early warning sign. When they develop, it is a sign that a person has been exposed to asbestos; the person may face greater risk of developing a malignant condition such as mesothelioma cancer.

The bill also covers pleural thickening and asbestosis.

Diseases such as lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma have been diagnosed in hundreds of Scots, many of whom were former shipyard workers in the Clydeside shipyard.

Stuart McMillan, whose family members have worked in the shipyards, said: “This decision by the House of Lords has caused a great amount of anger and dismay in the west of Scotland communities where people have been affected by this condition for doing nothing more than earning an honest wage.”

Doctors and member of the Association of British Insurers are against the bill. They claim the bill sends wrong message about the seriousness of pleural plaques. Concern is spreading that the so-called “worried well” would be allowed to claim damages even though their condition was not causing them discomfort.

The Scottish Government has said the Ministry of Defence had historically accepted liability in asbestos-related cases, and that trend is expected to continue in the future.

In the United States, countless former shipyard workers, including those who worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, were exposed to asbestos while at work.

Source:

BBC News

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