Pleural Plaques

Having pleural plaques causes no pain and no symptoms. However living with the knowledge that you have been exposed to asbestos and that you have pleural plaques causes immense anxiety for those exposed and their families.

Prior to January 2006 Bond Pearce had successfully settled many thousands of claims for people who had been exposed to asbestos and who were suffering with pleural plaques.

However on 26 January 2006 the Court of Appeal decided that no compensation should be paid to claimants suffering with pleural plaques. The judgment overturned 20 years of established law.

This decision was confirmed by the House of Lords in October 2007. It is no longer possible to pursue a claim for pleural plaques or for the anxiety that they cause unless, unusually, the plaques cause physical symptoms. It is still possible however to claim for other asbestos conditions causing symptoms

Exposure
It is recognised that the presence of pleural plaques indicates that an individual has been exposed to asbestos and that there are likely to be other, unneutralised fibres present that may later act as a catalyst in the development of cancer. However these plaques themselves are benign.

Exposure to asbestos can cause five different conditions of the lung and pleura. These are pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

A person who has been exposed to sufficient asbestos to develop pleural plaques also has a small but increased risk of developing lung cancer and mesothelioma.

How we can help
Those with symptomless pleural plaques can no longer claim. If however you are experiencing symptoms believed to be caused by asbestos exposure then please contact us for advice.

The industrial disease team have recently submitted a consultation to the House of Lords supporting a reversal of this decision. Read the consultation.

Claims can still be made for other asbestos related conditions such as pleural thickening, asbestosis/pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma."

Case Studies

Ronald worked for the MoD at H M Dockyard, Chatham as a bricklayer modernising boiler houses. He worked alongside laggers who ripped out old lagging and replaced it with new. "The amount of dust created was immense and there was asbestos debris everywhere" recalls Ronald. "The air was thick with dust as if it was snowing."

"My job was to knock off the asbestos with a hammer and chisel and use wire snips to cut out the wire to reveal the pipe to cut out. When the new pipes had been put in the laggers mixed up the asbestos in tubs and reapplied it with their hands."

"We were never supplied with any breathing equipment and there was no ventilation. My clothes, hair and face would be covered in dust. I could taste it in my mouth. As we worked others would sweep up - making it even dustier."

"Ronald's case is typical of the stories we have heard" said his specialist asbestos lawyer who settled Ronald's claim last week. "He has to now live with the knowledge that not only have his lungs been affected by this exposure but that he might also develop an asbestos related disease in the future."

Russell worked at Falmouth Docks for Green and Silley Cox from 1940 until 1979 . During his time at Falmouth Docks he was substantially exposed to asbestos and asbestos dust.

"I was a joiner machinist and had to cut and machine asbestos sheeting every day" said Russell, 83. "I used large saws to cut the sheeting. It was used for bulkheads onboard vessels which came into the yard. It had to be cut to size and then I had to fit it. I swept up asbestos dust caused by the cutting and machinery which left me covered in dust. My clothes, would also be covered but also my hair, face and nose."

"I used to take my clothes home for my wife to wash - so she also came into contact with the asbestos dust."

"There was never any protective clothing and the extraction unit was totally inefficient. Dust always needed to be swept up and collected manually."

"Some of those I worked with have died of asbestos related conditions. They did the same work as me. I am 82 and have been advised that the pleural plaque might not cause me any symptoms but nevertheless I am anxious about the future."