Report to the People
Justice for Asbestos Victims
The story of asbestos victims has been a wretched one.
Needlessly exposed by their employers to a poisonous product which gave them a raft of horrible diseases, victims seeking compensation were left to twist in the wind by a judicial system powerless against the underhand tactics of insurance companies and their lawyers.
And, as if this wasn’t enough, the scandal surrounding the collapse of Chester Street Insurance, the insurer for many former shipbuilding companies, left victims who were actually awarded compensation wondering whether they would ever see a penny.
While the government did step in with the cash to protect the victims’ claims, it nevertheless seemed that every time I wrote or spoke about asbestos, it was in response to bitter blow.
Not today however.
After a long campaign, Petitions to the Scottish Parliament, debates in the Chamber, the lobbying of Ministers and Law Officers, a victory has been scored.
Top judge, Lord MacKay, has been appointed to oversee asbestos cases in the Court of Session. His brief is to keep a tight rein on the proceedings and move swiftly to a conclusion.
At a meeting last week with Deputy Justice Minister, Dr Richard Simpson, and my colleague Des McNulty (who, as the MSP for Clydebank, represents the asbestos capital of Scotland), we learned that Lord MacKay has already begun holding the specially convened hearings.
He dealt with16 cases – including 4 which were settled immediately – and will sit every fortnight, working through a backlog which could be as big as 500.
And the benefits go beyond the current victims and their families. It is my hope that a senior judge such as Lord MacKay, sitting on the bench week after week, hearing the same stories, the same despair, the same prevarication, will say enough is enough. We need a change in the legal culture which makes the use of tactics like "blanket denials" and the excessive and spurious spinning out of cases unacceptable. Lord MacKay’s experience hearing these cases could form a basis for this.
It therefore made a pleasant change to be able to speak, along with others from politics, the law and academia, about some good news at the Clydeside Action on Asbestos Workshop in Clydebank last Friday. After such a long and distressing campaign, it is good to see progress being made.
There is, though, much work still to be done. But, with the political and legal establishments working together, we can turn the situation around.
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