The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme was introduced in 2014 by the Mesothelioma Act 2014. It is designed to provide substantial payments to people diagnosed with Diffuse Mesothelioma (or their eligible dependants) who cannot access compensation elsewhere. Below you will find a general overview of the process, and advice on how best to proceed with an application

What you need to do

1. Contact a solicitor to see if you can make a common law / civil claim against your employer or your employer’s insurer.
If this is not possible and you think you are eligible for a payment under the scheme, you can either apply to the scheme directly, or use a solicitor to assist you in making an application to the scheme.

2. If you believe you are eligible, complete the DMPS Application Form

3. Submit the Application Form along with the required / relevant supporting documentation (see Question 4 on our FAQs page).

4. Your application can take up to six weeks to process. If the initial submission is incomplete and the relevant documents have not been provided, then the process will be delayed.

5. If your application is successful, a payment will be made in accordance with the tariff
If the application is brought by two or more eligible dependants, please see the information contained in our FAQs page. Please note that the figures quoted in the tariff table are prior to any deductions being made in respect of recoverable lump sum payments (e.g. under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979, or the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008), and any social security benefits which were paid in relation to Mesothelioma.

6. If your application is unsuccessful and you disagree with the outcome, you may request a review.

7. When requesting a review, you must supply information in support of why you believe the decision should be reviewed. The review will be carried out by a different colleague than the one who made the initial decision, and we will provide our response within 14 days. If for any reason we are unable to respond within that timeframe, you will be informed of this. If you are still unsatisfied with the outcome of the review, you can appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT), which is part of the Tribunal Services).

8. You may consult and/or engage a solicitor at any stage.
If you have instructed a solicitor, they can help you complete the application form, source the relevant supporting documentation, advise you on aspects of the eligibility criteria and, if necessary, provide you with advice relating to the review process.

9. You can still make an application to the DMPS while a civil claim is ongoing in order to protect your position