College News- September 2008RCPE comment on Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill - 9 September 2008Speaking in advance of the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee’s evidence hearing on the Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill due to take place on Tuesday 9 September 2008, Prof Neil Douglas, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), and a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, said, “The Scottish Government’s intention to help people in Scotland with asbestos-related illness is laudable. However, we believe that the proposed Bill, as it stands, is flawed in that the development of pleural plaques (scarring to the lining of the lungs) is not an indicator that an individual who has been exposed to asbestos will go on to develop mesothelioma. Pleural plaques, on their own, are harmless, benign and cause no medical impairment. Instead, it is the intensity of an individual’s exposure to asbestos which causes mesothelioma. “We have the greatest of sympathy for those who do develop asbestos-related conditions, including mesothelioma, but it would be fundamentally wrong to use the existence of pleural plaques as a basis for compensation claims within this Bill. “We would urge the Justice Committee to think very carefully about this matter during its ongoing consideration of this Bill” ENDS Contact: Graeme McAlister on 0131-247-3693 or 07808-939395
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