Former industrial workers in Swindon who suffer from a condition related to asbestos exposure can now claim £5,000 in government compensation.

The Ministry of Justice has announced details of a national payment scheme for people with pleural plaques, the least serious medical condition associated with breathing in the fibres.

Swindon is expected to produce dozens of claimants because many were exposed to the potentially life-threatening material while working at the railway works.

However only those claimants who issued court proceedings, sent a letter, or visited a solicitor to handle a claim prior to October 17, 2007 will be eligible for the pay-out.

Brigitte Chandler, a partner and specialist in industrial disease at law firm Charles Lucas and Marshall in Swindon, who is dealing with more than 100 pleural plaques cases, urged other potential claimants to contact their lawyers.

“The decision is good news for people suffering with pleural plaques,” she said. “We have a large number of clients who have been waiting for the Government’s decision on this issue. It means we can now start to process their compensation claims.”

Pleural plaques, the name given to areas of thickening on the inside lining of the rib cage, can occur after any amount of asbestos exposure.

It does not cause symptoms but does indicate that someone has breathed in asbestos, which can cause other serious conditions, including the killer lung cancer mesothelioma.

Compensation claims for pleural plaques had been put on hold following a House of Lords decision to stop payment of damages to people with pleural plaques.

The Government’s announcement now means that anyone who tried to bring a claim for pleural plaques prior to October 2007 and was not successful, can now contact their solicitor to process the claim. Applications, which require a person to prove they have the condition, have to be made by 1 August 2011 and successful claimants are entitled to a flat-rate pay-out of £5,000.

Ms Chandler said: “Unfortunately, those who did not bring a claim prior to October 2007 will not be able to claim under this new Government scheme.

“Those who can claim but go on to develop more serious illnesses such as lung cancer, caused by asbestos, will still be able to bring a claim for a larger sum against their employers.”

Asbestos still remains the single biggest cause of work-related death. A total of 137 people in Swindon have died from mesothelioma between 1981 and 2005.

Many of these were former railway workers, which has led to the illness being dubbed the ‘Swindon Disease’.

Several of the men’s wives also fell ill after washing clothes that had been covered with it.

Source: Swindon Advertiser

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