Asbestos illness payments rise

From April, lump sum payments made under the 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme will increase to the same level as those paid under the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979. This means individuals who develop the disease from asbestos exposure outside the workplace will receive the same payment as those exposed at work. 

Sufferers currently receive a minimum payment of £8,197 from the Mesothelioma Scheme. This will rise to £11,678 in April. The maximum payment will rise from £52,772 to £75,176.

Families of sufferers will be given an increase of up to £5,000. The government will increase payment levels under the 1979 Act by a further 1.5%. About 6,000 claimants with pleural plaques who began claims before a House of Lords ruling on 17 October 2007 will be given one-off payments of £5,000. The Law Lords held that the existence of pleural plaques did not constitute actionable or compensatable damage. Previously, the courts had regarded plaques as compensatable.

Trade union law firm Thompsons Solicitors welcomed the DWP decision on mesothelioma but expressed disappointment at the decision not to restore compensation for people with pleural plaques.

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons Solicitors said: “On behalf of our clients we are disappointed the government has decided not to overturn the House of Lords’ judgment although we recognise that at least some people with pleural plaques will get something.”

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers welcomed the increased payments for mesothelioma sufferers and their dependants, but said the decision on pleural plaques was “a disappointing end to a long, drawn out consultation process”. Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen associated with exposure to asbestos.