Industry news
Asbestos claim Bill back in Commons
Posted Fri, 05 Feb 2010
A Bill that would recognise lung scarring due to asbestos exposure as open to compensation has returned to the Commons.
The Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) Billl cleared the Commons last year in a previous version but the parliamentary session ended before it could become law.
Andrew Dismore (Labour, Hendon) tabled the Bill after sufferers of the condition of pleural plaques were denied compensation in a House of Lords ruling in 2007.
Mr Dismore said the Bill, aimed at overturning the Law Lords ruling, would return the law to a previous position, allowing sufferers who have not developed other asbestos-related diseases to claim compensation.
"There has been no formal position announced by the Government, so that's why I think this Bill is a good way forward," he said. Pleural plaques on the lungs were painful and always fatal "and doing nothing is simply not an option."
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