ASBESTOS victims have won a landmark ruling against insurers at the Supreme Court which could see billions paid out to Scottish sufferers.
The judgment is also a victory for the Scottish Parliament, which had unanimously passed legislation in 2009 that said people who had developed pleural plaques should be entitled to compensation.
There are at least 1,200 Scots with the condition who will now receive a combined pay-out, previously estimated to be about £20 million.
However, the number of sufferers being diagnosed continues to grow and is not expected to peak until 2020.
Insurers fear that, ultimately, the bill will run into billions.
Axa, Royal Sun Alliance, Zurich and Aviva argued that pleural plaques – non-cancerous scarring of the lungs and chest wall – are “symptomless”.
But campaign groups, such as Clydeside Action on Asbestos and Clydebank Action Group, argue it can cut lung capacity by up to 40 per cent and leave victims short-breathed. They want insurers to pay up now.
Phyllis Craig, chairwoman of Clydeside Action on Asbestos, said: “We have to look at the insurance industry and expose them. They have pursued every possible avenue to avoid their responsibilities.
“This has now got to stop.There’s got to be an end to this. Pay the people their money.”
Thompsons Solicitors represent about 90 per cent of sufferers, including eight sample cases which were taken to the Supreme Court.
Laura Blane, asbestos specialist partner at Thompsons, said: “For us, the real victory is for our clients. Not just the eight we fought to represent in the judicial review and appeal process, but the 1,100 men and their families who have stuck with us through this battle, some for as long as eight years. While we celebrate with them, we must remember that 45 of our clients died waiting, not knowing what the outcome of their claims would be.
“Some have developed more serious conditions including, in some cases, mesothelioma.”
Addressing the insurers, she added: “No more delay, no more avoidance, you must now pay the compensation that is due to those victims.”
The insurers may now turn to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but even a victory there would not alter the Scottish cases.
Yesterday, the Association of British Insurers (ABI), speaking on behalf of the four firms, said they were still digesting the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Nick Starling, ABI’s director of general insurance and health, said: “Insurers remain fully committed to continuing to pay compensation to people with asbestos-related conditions, such as mesothelioma.
“The insurers brought this case because they believe that the Damages Act is fundamentally flawed in that it ignores overwhelming medical evidence that pleural plaques are symptomless, and the well-established legal principle that compensation is payable only when there is physical harm.
“We are very disappointed that the court has not found in our favour on this important principle of law. Insurers will now consider this judgment and what it means for them.”
The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act, which effectively overturned a House of Lords ruling from 2007 that pleural plaques victims were not entitled to compensation. The insurers challenged that legislation, first in the Scottish courts and then in London.
Justice secretary Kenny Mac-Askill welcomed yesterday’s judgment, saying: “I warmly welcome this significant decision, not least for the sake of people with pleural plaques and all those who campaigned so vigorously to help them.
“It has always been our belief that the legislation is right in principle and right in law and I am pleased that it has been unequivocally upheld.”
After previously describing the Supreme Court as “ambulance chasing”, whose members’ knowledge of Scotland was limited to visiting the Edinburgh festivals, Mr MacAskill called yesterday’s decision “a triumph for the progressive politics”.
source: scotsman.com
