Pleural Plaques upda - Industrial Disease - Personal Injury Claims

Many thousands of workers exposed to asbestos during the course of their employment who had gone on to suffer from pleural plaques, a condition affecting the lining of the lungs, have lost their right to compensation following a recent Court of Appeal ruling.

In the past, Claimants had obtained compensation for the development of the pleural plaques because of the anxiety that they may go on to develop much more serious conditions as a result of their asbestos exposure. The pleural plaques, the Claimant’s solicitors argued, when combined with the anxiety they caused, justified an award of compensation. In the past, Claimant’s had been awarded compensation either on a full and final basis, or alternatively they had accepted a lesser award, but with the proviso that they could return to Court if they went on to develop a more serious condition.

The insurance industry’s argument that the plaques were not sufficiently serious to justify an award of compensation.

The Court of Appeal overturned 20 years of established legal practice in accepting the Defendant’s arguments and in deciding that compensation was not payable following the development of the condition.

Estimates suggest that the insurance industry will save billions of pounds over the next few decades as a result of the ruling.