Scottish asbestos ruling ‘must be extended across UK’

Posted 11/01/2010

A trade union has called on the government to introduce a UK-wide extension of its recent ruling allowing compensation claims for pleural plaque victims in Scotland.

GMB has welcomed the recent decision to dismiss a judicial review from the insurance industry, which sought to prevent sufferers of the -related condition from making legal claims.

Jim Moohan, senior organiser for GMB Scotland, described this move as “totally and morally unjust”, adding that the verdict represents a form of justice for those afflicted by the industrial disease.

The union expressed hope that this judgement will help to support a “superior challenge” against laws prohibiting such claims in other parts of the UK.

GMB’s statement was echoed by Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians general secretary Alan Ritchie, who condemned the insurance industry’s stance as “very cynical”.

He added: “Pleural plaques victims must not be trapped in a postcode lottery about whether or not they receive compensation.”