Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Ministry of Justice Pleural Plaques Compensation Scheme
4th October 2010
The Ministry of Justice has opened a scheme to provide one-off payments of compensation to people who had begun, but not completed, a claim for pleural plaques, before the House of Lords ended the right to compensation for the condition in 2007.
Pleural Plaques
Pleural plaques are benign areas of scarring on the lining of the lungs, caused by exposure to asbestos.
The condition does not usually cause any symptoms. Their presence does indicate however that the lungs have been exposed to asbestos, so people diagnosed with the condition can become anxious about the risk of developing other asbestos-related illnesses.
Pleural Plaques Compensation
In October 2007 the House of Lords ruled that compensation would no longer be payable to people suffering from pleural plaques. Despite campaigns to have this decision overturned, the Government decided not to.
It was decided however that those people who had already begun a claim prior to 17th October 2007, but whose claim had not been resolved, would be entitled to apply for a one off payment of up to £5,000 from a Government scheme.
Applying to the Scheme
Anyone who first made enquiries about claiming compensation for pleural plaques after 17th October 2007 will not be eligible under the scheme.
If you believe that you may be entitled to a payment under the scheme, all applications must be made by 1st August 2011. The Government scheme does not cover solicitors costs.
Unlike some other firms, our lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, have decided not to charge clients for making applications to the scheme for anyone we took on a pleural plaques claim for prior to 17th October 2007.
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