Press Release

Pleural plaques appeals – statement from the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)

26 June, 2007

The Court of Appeal’s ruling last year came as a bitter blow for those whose lives have been blighted by the suffering and trauma caused by pleural plaques. The House of Lords hearings are the final hope for these men who, through no fault of their own, have been exposed to asbestos and are waiting and wondering if their lives will be cut short.

“Pleural plaques are still an injury even though they cannot be seen,” said APIL vice president Amanda Stevens. “This is far from just a scar on the lungs. Those diagnosed are sentenced to a lifetime of uncertainty and distress, wondering day in day out if they will go on to develop another asbestos related disease. The clock starts ticking the moment they are diagnosed,” she said.

“Unless this ruling is overturned, negligent employers who exposed their workers to asbestos will get off scott free and the insurers will pocket the windfall.”