Under a bill proposed by the Scottish Government, people with pleural plaques, asymptomatic asbestosis or pleural thickening will be able to seek compensation if they have been negligently exposed to asbestos. These conditions are a sign of exposure to asbestos and are often precursors to more debilitating illnesses.
In October 2007, the House of Lords ruled that sufferers of pleural plaques should not be awarded compensation, as pleural plaques isn't a "compensatable" disease, causing outrage from asbestos campaigners and politicians.
Solicitor Rodney Nelson-Jones, Head of the Asbestos Disease Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse, recently spoke to a gathering of about 250 MPs, trades unionists and pressure group workers at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The meeting was called as part of a campaign to restore the right of pleural plaques sufferers to claim compensation.
Fieldfisher is a leader in the field of asbestos claims. Solicitors and other lawyers in the Asbestos Claims Department at the firm have concluded over 1,900 asbestos compensation claims and recovered over £116 million compensation for asbestos victims over the past 26 years.