Clause 3
Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill
Public Bill Committees, 1 July 2009, 10:00 am
Andrew Dismore (Hendon, Labour)
Again, the provision is a technical one, to deal with the question of limitation. The normal limitation period in personal injury is three years for an ordinary accident, or three years from the date that the individual could reasonably be expected to know, for example, that they had a disease. We have a particular problem to provide for, which is the hiatus caused by the House of Lords judgment which will last until the day that the Bill becomes law. Effectively, the clause suspends the limitation period for that time, so that in such circumstances people whose cases were not brought will not be time-barred as a consequence. Also, it provides for cases that have not been determined in those circumstances to proceed.
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
My only concern about the clause is that it does not reflect the different legislation on limitation periods for Northern Ireland. We shall have to look at that at a later stage.