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Kent Lawyer Urges Workers Exposed To Asbestos To Keep Fighting

20 November 2007

Kent workers who have been exposed to asbestos by negligent employers will not be eligible for compensation following the decision by the House of Lords not to overturn a Court of Appeal’s ruling.

The fate of workers from Chatham Dockyards, Kent Coalfield and the county’s construction and demolition industries has hung in the balance since last year when the Court of Appeal decided that pleural plaques – the first sign of asbestos damage which in many cases leads to more serious asbestos-related illness – don’t justify compensation.

But Kent lawyer Neille Ryan urges the victims not to give up the fight. Neille, personal injury and industrial disease specialist at leading south east law firm Furley Page, said: “The decision by the House of Lords is a huge blow to these workers who must now live in fear that their pleural plaques could develop into asbestosis or mesothelioma. This means that 214 people whose cases are in court - and a further 420 others whose cases have still to be heard – now have nowhere to go.

“However, there is a glimmer of hope from the Scottish parliament where cross party support is in favour of legislative action to overturn the House of Lords’ decision. If this were to happen it would add to the pressure here and hopefully change the Government’s mind so I urge all pleural plaque sufferers to contact their MPs to explain the devastating effect of the judgement on them.

“Unless the Government can be made aware of the impact of pleural plaques on real people it is unlikely to take action. We must keep this issue on the agenda.”

Asbestos-related conditions are on the increase and expected to continue rising for the next 10 – 15 years, adds Neille who predicts that with the Medway towns’ long history of ship building and construction and demolition industries there will be a “significant number” of pleural plaque sufferers in the area.

He hits out at the insurance industry for conducting a “concerted campaign” to deny compensation to victims of accidents or industrial disease, warning: “Make no mistake, insurance companies have propagated the myth of the compensation culture in order to deter people from claiming in the first place, while at the same time seeking to frustrate perfectly genuine claimants.”

For more information contact  Neille Ryan

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