14th
December 2006
Mesothelioma
Victims’ Compensation Dilemma to End Next Week
An amendment to the Rights of
Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill will free Mesothelioma
victims from their “invidious compensation dilemma” next week, MSP for
Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, has said.
The Bill will allow
mesothelioma sufferers and their families to claim full compensation for their
grief and suffering and this amendment means they can benefit from the Bill’s
provisions from 20th December 2006, rather than waiting until it
becomes law.
Mr McNeil said that
mesothelioma sufferers will now be free to proceed with their own claim in the
knowledge that their families will not be disadvantaged.
He said:
“There are too many people
in former heavy industrial communities like ours whose only reward for years of
hard work was a chest full of asbestos and this particularly vicious cancer.
“As if that wasn’t bad
enough, they are then forced into the invidious position of choosing between
making their last few months more comfortable by settling their own claim while
alive, or not claiming so that their relatives can secure a greater award.
“This Bill is going to end
that scandal – even before it makes it onto the statute books. These victims
have been waiting too long for justice and I’m delighted that, from next week,
they will no longer be faced with this distressing dilemma.”
New Deputy Justice Minister,
Johann Lamont, confirmed that the Executive would bring forward the amendment as
she gave evidence to Holyrood’s Justice 1 Committee on Wednesday.
As the law stands, sufferers
of mesothelioma face the distressing dilemma of either settling their damages
claim while alive, or not settling their claim before death so their relatives
can claim greater awards. Most
sufferers do not claim themselves so as not to disadvantage their families.
The Mesothelioma Damages Bill, introduced to Parliament in September, will
remedy that situation by allowing the immediate family to claim damages for
non-financial loss even if the deceased settled their own claim while alive.
This new amendment will mean that the dilemma faced by mesothelioma
sufferers will be remedied from 20th December 2006 and that they will
be able to proceed with their own claim in the knowledge that their families
will not be disadvantaged.
The Rights of Relatives to
Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill started life as a Member’s Bill
promoted by Clydebank MSP, Des McNulty. It
has now been adopted by the Executive and Mr McNeil told the Telegraph that every effort is being made to get the legislation on
the statute books before next year’s election.
“We are pressing hard for
this Bill to make it onto the statute books before the end of the current
parliamentary session,” he said. “Time
is tight, but I’m hopeful that, if we pull out all the stops, it can be done
and that we can get, at long last, justice for asbestos victims in Greenock and
elsewhere.”
ENDS
Notes
The Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill
will amend section 1(2) of the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 so that
relatives' claims for damages for non-patrimonial (non-financial) loss are not
extinguished by a person with mesothelioma settling their own claim while still
alive.
The Bill as introduced will
apply where the sufferer recovers damages or obtains a full settlement on or
after the date the Bill comes into force, which will be seven days after Royal
Assent. Where the liability of the
responsible person has been discharged prior to that date that discharge will
continue to bar any claim by the immediate family.
The effect of the amendment
will be that the provisions in this Bill will apply to any case where the
sufferer recovers damages or obtains a full settlement on or after 20 December
2006.
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