Hundreds have died from asbestos-related illnesses in Scotland

Earlier this year the Justice 2 Committee called for radical changes to the legal system to ensure that sufferers receive compensation before they die.

MSPs recommended that special procedures be introduced for handling mesothelioma claims - one of the family of asbestos-related diseases.

Scotland's most senior judge, Lord Cullen, has now announced changes to the system which will allow fast-track court hearings in personal injury cases for terminally ill people.

Shorter timescale

Under the new procedures, which will take effect on 1 April, all such cases will be set a hearing date within 12 months.

The changes to the Court of Session's guidance make clear that where someone has a life expectancy of less than 12 months, the court should look with "considerable sympathy" on any application to resolve the case in a shorter timescale.

Committee convener Pauline McNeill said: "This important outcome has only been achieved through unprecedented cooperation between the parliament and the judiciary.

It is now essential that solicitors bringing forward such cases use the flexibility in the new rules to the full Pauline McNeill Committee convener

"The spirit of the new policy is to make sure that terminally ill people have the best opportunity possible of seeing justice done in civil courts."

The committee had proposed that such cases should be heard within six months.

"I am reassured that for the more straightforward cases that would be possible under the new rules and any of these cases can now be completed in less than the 12 months originally proposed," added Ms McNeill.

"It is now essential that solicitors bringing forward such cases use the flexibility in the new rules to the full in order to benefit sufferers and their families."

Mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lung or abdomen. It can cause a great deal of pain, and responds poorly to surgery and therapies.