The Northern Ireland Executive has published its analysis of the responses to its consultation paper on pleural plaques. The paper is the latest from Northern Ireland in the wake of the House of Lords’ decision in Johnson v NEI International Combustion [2007] UKHL 39 which found that asymptomatic pleural plaques were not compensatable. Responses from a variety of concerned parties are contained in the paper including medical and legal professionals, unions, political parties and claimants. The responses to the House of Lords’ decision in England and Wales and Scotland was also taken into consideration. Having reviewed the information before it, the Northern Ireland Executive has decided that it would follow Scotland’s lead and introduce legislation to “restore symptomless pleural plaques as an actionable condition.”

If the legislation is successfully introduced it will mean that asymptomatic pleural plaques will be compensatable in Scotland and Northern Ireland but not in England and Wales. If you would like to read the paper please click here.