MPs urge new laws to give justice for N-E asbestos victims

10:01pm Wednesday 24th October 2007

By Rob Merrick

NEW laws must be rushed through to give justice to North-East victims of an asbestos-related condition following a shock legal ruling, MPs urged today.

A group of 13 Labour MPs tabled a parliamentary motion demanding legislation to ensure sufferers of pleural plaques - a scarring of the lungs - receive compensation.

The move follows last week's Law Lords judgement that leaves thousands of British workers with the condition unable to make claims.

The ruling applies only to sufferers of pleural plaques, leaving insurance firms still liable to pay out on other asbestos-related compensation cases.

Nevertheless, it will have a big impact in the North-East, where asbestos was widely used as insulation in ships - exposing workers during fitting out and ship breaking.

Nearly 2,000 people - mostly men - died from mesothelioma across the region over the 20 years to 2000, according to official figures.

The blackspots, measured by the mortality rate (MR) where 100 is the national average, were South Tyneside (357), North Tyneside (340), Hartlepool (241), Newcastle (238) and Sunderland (237).

But the death toll is expected to rise, peaking at as high as 2,450 deaths across Britain by 2015, compared to 1,922 in 2003.

Now the early day motion, co-sponsored by Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn, has called on Justice Secretary Jack Straw to act.

It says: "Pleural plaques, caused by exposure to asbestos, result in physiological damage, which constitutes a loss of faculty which has an effect on the individual's wellbeing."

And it calls on Mr Straw to "introduce legislation to overturn the Lords judgement, because it is now clear that workers suffering the condition will not get justice in the courts".

Pleural plaques are areas of thick scar tissue which form in the chest lining and diaphragm and are caused by inhaling asbestos fibres.

Over time, they can make breathing difficult and can be accompanied by the development of serious respiratory diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.

The insurance firms - facing a potential £1bn payout - had argued they should not be liable because pleural plaques had no symptoms and was, therefore, not a disease.

The Law Lords agreed, a decision union leaders immediately attacked as "baffling", arguing it would lead to "massive savings" for insurance firms.

Thus far, the government has said only that it will "consider the House of Lords judgement very carefully before making any comment".

However, it has already overturned one Law Lords ruling threatening payouts - that a worker exposed to asbestos dust by several employers must seek a proportionate share of compensation from each.