MPs criticise delays to help for asbestos disease sufferers

08:30:00 Friday 9th January 2009

A total of 115 MPs have signed a motion that urges ministers to speed up their response to a letter calling for the overturning of the Law Lords decision to introduce a “no fault” payment for people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses.

The MPs are accusing ministers of ‘dithering’ over the Law Lords judgment and want the government to make a statement that the law should be “on the side of the victims,” according to John Battle, the MP for Leeds West.

The government upheld the Lords Judgment on the subject and stated, in a consultation paper published in July 2008, that there should be a £5,000 or less “no fault” payout to people who have developed pleural plaques as a result of exposure to asbestos.

There is concern about the small value of this standard payout and the fact that the system doesn’t prove the victim has been exposed to asbestos, meaning they will not be automatically approved for further payouts if they later contract mesothelioma.

The government is thought to be concerned that overturning the Lords judgment will lead to more, expensive claims and open the way for people to make retrospective personal injury compensation claims against other workplace health issues, including passive smoking.

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