Victory for pleural plaques victims
04/08/2010
Thousands of workers suffering from an asbestos-related disease can now apply for a £5,000 payment, the Ministry of Justice said.
People who had already started a compensation claim before October 17, 2007, can receive the £5,000 payment, which campaigners estimated will affect 6,000 people.
On October 17, 2007, Law Lords ruled that the existence of pleural plaques - a scarring of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos - was not "actionable damage", preventing payouts to anyone diagnosed later.
Earlier this year, the Labour government was accused of "abandoning" victims after it announced it would not change the Law Lords ruling.
But now those in England and Wales who were diagnosed before the date have until August 1, 2011, to lodge a claim, the Ministry of Justice said.
Speaking in February, the then justice secretary Jack Straw said that on the basis of medical evidence received during the consultation, the government was unable to conclude that the Law Lords decision should be changed or that an open-ended compensation scheme should be set up.
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