The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of pleural plaques victims north of the border
In a landmark judgment, AXA General Insurance v the Lord Advocate [2011] UKSC 46, the justices held the Scottish Parliament was within its rights to pass a new law restoring pleural plaques victims’ right to compensation. They rejected insurers’ argument that the new law breached their human rights.
The new law was passed following the controversial 2007 decision of the House of Lords that the condition was harmless (Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co [2007] UKHL 39).
Patrick McGuire, partner at Thompsons Solicitors, which handles 90% of Scottish pleural plaques cases, said: “This is a great day for democracy because the Supreme Court has reinforced the Scottish Parliament’s right to legislate to protect the rights of its citizens.
“This verdict means that 1,200 Scottish pleural plaques victims, some of whom have been in legal limbo for five or six years, can now pursue their cases through courts. And we believe their claims will succeed.”
Laura Blane, Thompsons partner and asbestos specialist, said: “We have 650 pleural plaques cases on hold in the courts and another 450 coming through the system.”
Susan Brown, director at Prolegal, said: “This is good news for Scottish asbestos victims and restores them to the position the whole country was in prior to the judgment of the House of Lords in Rothwell.”
