Unions fight back over asbestos

13 April 2012

INSURERS have been slammed by the UK's largest private sector union, Amicus, for failing to compensate asbestos claims. The union said that up to three-quarters of claims are being rejected in a High Court challenge.Insurers are challenging the right for workers exposed to asbestos to claim compensation for pleural plaques, a calcification of the lungs that can be caused by exposure to asbestos. There are on average 14,000 pleural plaque cases a year.The test case being summed up in the High Court today involving Amicus members could have far reaching consequences for thousands of workers who have been exposed to asbestos over the past 50 years.The union will also hit out at dubious non-lawyer-claims companies that are fuelling insurers' accusations of a growing compensation culture.Amicus General Secretary Derek Simpson said: 'Insurers are being given ammunition by unscrupulous ambulance chasers to attack a legitimate class of legal action. Asbestos is not yesterday's problem. 'Amicus and its lawyers are determined to ensure that workers suffering from asbestos-related injuries due to the failure of employers to protect them have the right to compensation.'Typical awards for pleural plaques are around ?5,000, with the right to return to court if more serious asbestos-related illness develops, or ?10,000 to ?15,000 on a full and final basis.Insurers are claiming that an increase in pleural plaque cases is evidence of the so-called compensation culture and that scan vans are fuelling the increase.

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