header-logo header-logo

The waiting game

Nicholas Bevan & Andrew Stinchcombe trace the road ahead for pleural plaque compensation

* * * * * *

On 1 April 2009 Gordon Brown was asked at Prime Minister's Question Time by Stephen Hepburn MP (Lab) what he intended to do about the thousands of pleural plaques sufferers “who have been robbed of their compensation by unjust decisions in the law courts?” The prime minister stated that those suffering from asbestos diseases deserved the best of help from the public authorities and that it was right that the government looked again at this issue.

Pleural plaques are localised areas of pleural thickening which usually develop on the membrane (pleura) covering the lung and lining the inside of the rib cage. They are the most common respiratory disease caused by asbestos dust and in the vast majority of cases, they do not cause any symptoms and their presence is determined by chest X-ray or CT scans.

Insurers challenge—Rothwell

A trio of High Court decisions in the 1980s made it possible for

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll