 Swindon Solicitor Fears Limbo For Asbestos Claimants as Time Starts To Run Out for Parliamentary Bill
 Brigitte Chandler Swindon solicitor, Brigitte Chandler, who specialises in asbestos claims, has expressed fears that a bill which aims to compensate people suffering from pleural plaques will not become law.
The Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last month and sent up to the House of Lords.
However, fears are growing that the Bill will run out of time during this parliamentary session - leaving thousands of claimants in limbo.
"I have hundreds of clients in Swindon and elsewhere in the South West waiting on the outcome of this decision," says Brigitte Chandler of law firm Charles Lucas & Marshall and one of the south of England's leading legal experts on asbestos related disease.
"It is beginning to look unlikely the Bill will be heard during this parliamentary session and with a General Election looming, I am increasingly worried we will run out of time."
Pleural plaques is a thickening of the lung membrane caused by inhaling asbestos. Following a House of Lords ruling two years ago, pleural plaques victims lost the right to compensation although sufferers with other asbestos illnesses can still claim.
While Brigitte Chandler acknowledges that pleural plaques are not themselves disabling, they cause a great deal of anxiety and upset people's lives.
"These cases are not only about compensation for pleural plaques but establishing liability for possible future injury," she says. "If somebody goes on to develop asbestosis or mesothelioma, the question of liability would already be settled. It would shorten the victim's claim at a time when they are very ill and cannot face a drawn out legal battle."
About 10 per cent of people diagnosed with pleural plaques go on to develop asbestos or mesothelioma.
Six years ago a regional charity was formed to support victims of asbestos disease and their families. The Swindon and South West Asbestos Group is a regional charity for the South West and has support groups and a free information service for asbestos sufferers and their families. They can be contacted at: PO Box 2729, Swindon, SN1 4ZW. Telephone: 01793 496395. Email: info@asbestosgroup.co.uk Website: www.asbestosgroup.co.uk
For more information contact Brigitte Chandler on 01793 511055 or
brigitte.chandler@clmlaw.co.uk
Brigitte Chandler (contact details):
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