Asbestos lawyers have welcomed new rules that will see mesothelioma sufferers receive up to £54,000 extra compensation.
The government’s Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme assists victims who were unable to claim as their former employers are untraceable or no longer exist.
Previously the scheme only allowed them to claim 80% of the average payout that could be expected from an insured employer. But after the government U-turn, they will now be compensated for the full amount.
“The decision to fully compensate victims of mesothelioma through this scheme is most welcome,” says Anthony McCarthy, one of Macks’ expert team of work injury compensation solicitors.
“Depriving suffers of vital compensation was plain wrong and it’s good that the government has seen the error of its ways.”
The changes will only apply to people diagnosed with mesothelioma from 2015 onwards, rather than being backdated to those who have received a total of £19m in the first 10 months since the scheme began. Because of its heavy industrial past, an estimated one in 10 asbestos sufferers in the UK hails from the Teesside area.
Asbestos solicitors and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald have been long-term campaigners on the issue. Macks Solicitors have offices in Middlesbrough, Darlington and Redcar, where their asbestos lawyers have helped asbestos victims claims millions of pounds in compensation since the firm began 20 years ago.
