Court backs asbestos compensation claims

The UK Supreme Court has thrown out a legal bid by insurance companies to scrap the right of people in Scotland to claim damages for the asbestos-related condition pleural plaques.

The House of Lords ruled five years ago that victims could not claim compensation over the condition. They said that the mere presence of pleural plaques did not constitute injury which could give rise to a claim for damages, meaning insurance companies did not have to face pay-outs over employer negligence.

However, the Scottish government disagreed with the ruling and MSPs passed the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act in 2009. The Act provides that asbestos-related pleural plaques and certain other asbestos-related conditions constitute personal injury which is actionable under Scottish law, allowing claims to be made.

Insurance firms Axa, Aviva, Zurich and RSA vigorously attacked the legislation, even though the likely cost to them was a paltry £7 million to £9 million. However, they failed to overturn the law at the Court of Session, hence their bid in the Supreme Court.

Laura Blane, a partner at Thompsons Solicitors, which handles 90% of the estimated 1,200 pleural plaques cases in Scotland, said that they hoped the insurance industry would now get on with compensating pleural plaques sufferers fairly.