Scotland Passes New Meso Compensation Bill

October 2, 2006 - Trying to close a loophole on a former bill which stated that compensation could be paid to a living sufferer of mesothelioma, but at a lower rate than would be paid to the surviving family after death, the Scottish government passed a new bill which allows full compensation to be paid to mesothelioma victims during their lifetime rather than to family members after their death.

The Rights of Relatives to Damages Bill currently pertains only to those with mesothelioma, but advocates hope that the government will soon expand the bill to include other workplace-related diseases. 

In Scotland, those who worked in the country’s shipyards are the most widely affected, with a large percentage of the 1,900 per year that die of mesothelioma in Britain being former shipyard workers.  Health experts predict that the rate of disease will soar within the next 10 years. 

Hugh Henry, the Deputy Justice Minister who will steer the Bill through Holyrood by next March, said: "When illness takes hold, families should be supported - not worried by legal choices. Sufferers of this disease deserve better."

Des McNulty, labor MSP for Clydebank, agrees.  "I'm delighted the executive has introduced the Bill. Victims will now be able to pursue those responsible for compensation without fear that the rights of their families to compensation for their loss being extinguished,” he said.