15 January 2015
The Recovery of Medical Costs for the Asbestos Diseases (Scotland) Bill was lodged at the Scottish Parliament on 5 January 2015. It proposes that the Scottish Ministers should be able to recover costs which were incurred by the NHS for diagnosing and managing asbestos-related disease from those responsible for compensating the victim.
If this Bill is enacted it will bring the recovery of NHS costs, in compensation claims, associated with the care and treatment of asbestos into line with the recovery of NHS costs stemming from injury. The NHS has been able to recover the costs from the compensating party in treating victims of injury since 2003 — by way of the Health and Social Care (Community and Standards) Act 2003. This new Bill is closely modelled on the 2003 Act.
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If this Bill is enacted, the NHS costs which require to be repaid for asbestos-related disease would be apportioned between Defenders in cases where there is more than one.
Some NHS professionals have estimated that the cost in diagnosing and managing mesothelioma is around £60,000.
This Bill will impact upon all parties liable for compensating victims of asbestos-related disease including: insurers, local authorities and health boards.
Responses to the Bill are invited and require to be submitted by 31 March 2015.
If you require further information about this update, please do not hesitate to contact:
Wendy Thomson
Partner
E: wjt@bto.co.uk
T: 0131 222 2939