Pleural Plaques Bill off to a good start!

Readers of my blog will know that as well as waiting for the government to make an announcement on pleural plaques, Labour MP Andrew Dismore has 2 bills going through the commons at present which are private members bills.  Both bills were debated last Friday. The first, the Damages ( Asbestos Related Conditions ) Bill, seeks to restore as a compensateable condition pleural plaques. On Friday, it went through it's 2nd reading, committee stage and 3rd reading unopposed in the commons. The bill will now go to the House of Lords for consideration. It will need to complete 3 readings and a committee stage there before it can be passed as law. All this has to be completed before the general election or the bill will fail.

On the same day in the House of Lords, a bill with exactly the same wording as the commons bill was passed at second reading and now goes to the committee stage.

The second bill in the commons was the Employers Liability Insurance Bureau Bill - to provide a scheme for an insurer of last resort for victims of asbestos related cancers such as mesothelioma when it is not possible to trace the Employers Liability insurers of a defunct company. We have been expecting a government announcement about this but nothing has been announced yet. Unfortunately this ran out of time on Friday and has been relisted for consideration for 2nd reading on the 26 February 2010.

If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, call our specialist asbestos solicitors on 0800 0384 384 during business hours and a specialist asbestos lawyer can review your compensation claim for free while you are on the phone.