Pleural Plaques Cases - Court of Appeal decision
On the 26th January 2006, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment that was to change the legal position with regards to claims for pleural plaques.
Prior to this judgment, a claimant was able to bring a claim for compensation for pleural plaques, an asbestos related disease that does not cause any physical symptoms. The Court of Appeal’s decision has meant that since 26th January this is no longer the case.
The claimants lost on the most fundamental issue of actionability. The majority verdict given was that pleural plaques are not compensatable.
The majority verdict looked to policy considerations to determine the outcome. It was found to be undesirable that pleural plaques could give rise to a cause of action. Amongst other things, the majority decided that pursuing a claim for pleural plaques would result in claimants exacerbating their anxiety by focusing on the increased risk of further asbestos related injury. It was also said that claimants would be advised to claim for this disease to protect their position when they would otherwise not have done so.
Proportionality was also raised as an issue.
In our experience these policy considerations are ill founded. It has not been our experience that claimants have been unwilling to pursue claims for pleural plaques. Indeed, the opposite is true. Simply because pleural plaques do not cause physical symptoms does not mean that they are not an injury for which compensation should be payable. Commonly, claimants with pleural plaques are already worried about the possibility of further injury from their asbestos exposure and this anxiety, together with the risks of suffering that further injury, should be acknowledged in an award for provisional damages.
Permission was given for an appeal to the Court of Appeal. Watch this space.
Should you wish to discuss the information contained in this article further, or have questions relating to this area of law, please contact Deborah Krelle 0161 876 2518 or drx@colemans-sols.co.uk