Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

In 2007, the House of Lords ruled that patients diagnosed with pleural plaques caused by asbestos exposure did not qualify for insurance compensation. Last week, Judge Lord Emslie overturned that ruling, rejecting insurance companies arguments that pleural plaques do not fall under compensatable injuries and that they are a symptomless condition.

 

Medical studies have shown pleural plaques on the chest indicate a significant exposure to asbestos and create an increased risk for mesothelioma and other carcinomas. Pleural plaques are fibrous thickening of the parietal pleura that become calcified and vary in size. Many diagnosed with pleural plaques have breathing difficulties and are unable to do normal activities in the same capacity as before the plaques developed. They also live with the fear that at any time they may develop fatal and painful illnesses, such as mesothelioma. 

 

Mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer primarily caused by exposure to asbestos. Many ship builders and repairmen were exposed to asbestos, as well as workers in other industrial, construction and mechanic sectors. Mesothelioma is caused when asbestos enters the body and lodges in the lining of the heart, abdomen or lungs. Decades after initial exposure, tumors develop. Diagnosis is difficult and prognosis is poor.

 

Although insurers are disappointed in the ruling and may seek to appeal, those diagnosed with pleural plaques feel the courts made the right decision and feel some sense of justice in now being able to seek compensation.