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Grieves v F T Everard & Sons Ltd and others The House of Lords today closed the door on compensation claims for pleural plaques. Their Lordships addressed the question as to whether or not a person who has been negligently exposed to asbestos in the course of his employment can sue his employer for damages on the ground that he has developed pleural plaques. Pleural plaques do not ordinarily give rise to physical symptoms nor do they give rise to, or increase the risk of developing, other asbestos-related conditions. Lord Hope of Craighead observed that..."There must be real damage, as distinct from damage which is purely minimal". He also went on to state that..."There is no cosmetic deficit. Their physical effects cannot, in any normal sense of the word, be described as harmful. In essence, they are only indicators. They do no more than evidence exposure to asbestos". Lord Justice Hoffman delivered the leading judgement and stated that proof of damage is an essential element in a claim in negligence. He also observed that "symptomless plaques are not compensatable". The risk of future illness or anxiety over the possibility of that risk developing does not amount to damage for the purpose of creating a cause of action. Therefore, even where the anxiety causes a recognised psychiatric illness such as clinical depression, no cause of action arises. The decision has immediate effect in Northern Ireland as decisions of the House of Lords are binding on all courts here. Some of the Law Lords referred in their judgements to a theoretical recourse on foot of breach of contract which had not been relied on by the appellants. Lord Scott of Foscote in particular expanded on this point highlighting the fact that whilst damage "is the gist" of a negligence action, it need not be shown to establish breach of contract. Proof of the breach is all that is necessary. However, limitation issues are likely to present considerable obstacles to any fresh actions based on breach of contract since the time period for issuing such proceedings is 6 years from the date of breach. Pleural plaques usually take a much longer time to be diagnosed. Even if the door has been left slightly open for claimants alleging breach of contract, it remains firmly closed to those who do not have any contractual nexus, e.g. the spouse or partner of someone who brought home asbestos dust and particles on their clothing.
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