Mesothelioma Client receives £170,000 following exposure to asbestos

In this case, my client was diagnosed with mesothelioma back in Spring 2017. Sadly, mesothelioma is a terminal cancer that is caused almost exclusively by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. There is normally a 40 year period between the inhalation of asbestos fibres and the onset of the illness, however this latency period can fluctuate.  Once diagnosed, there is normally a life expectancy of 12 months and therefore claims of this nature are prioritised both by ourselves and with the Courts in an attempt to settle them within the individual’s lifetime. Our client was employed as an electrician for a national electrical engineering company between approximately 1962 and 1975. During the course of his employment with them, he was involved in the construction of a motor vehicle factory as well as a power station. The builds that he was involved in were extremely large and there were a number of different tradesman from different contracting firms working alongside him. As an electrician he was wiring cables, wiring up machines, drilling through walls, setting up the lighting throughout the factory and powering the machines. The factories were heated through a system of heating pipes which were suspended within the ceiling void which was open to the floor below.  Our client could remember working alongside teams of laggers who would tip paper sacks of asbestos into large long metal baths before adding water and mixing it with shovels.  This process would release huge amounts of asbestos dust into the atmosphere.  The laggers would then smear the asbestos paste onto the pipes using trowels. The insurance company for the defendant admitted negligently exposing our client to asbestos dust in October 2017, however unfortunately despite disclosing evidence to them, they were unprepared to enter into negotiations with us outside of Court within the timescales that we had hoped. In light of the above, we made use of the fast track procedure at Court for mesothelioma claims and issued this claim at the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division in London.  There is a specific asbestos list for the Masters within this Court and therefore we choose to issue all asbestos related claims down in London to benefit from the Masters expertise in this area of Law. In utilising the mesothelioma fast track procedure at Court, we were able to secure an interim payment of £50,000.00 in light of the Defendant’s earlier admission of breach of duty. Our client sadly passed away during the course of his claim, however his Wife and Executrix of his Estate was able to take over conduct of the claim after a period of abeyance following our client’s passing. Following negotiation with the Defendant, the Estate accepted £170,000.00 to reflect our client’s pain and suffering arising out of his diagnosis of mesothelioma, the care and assistance provided by his Widow, the services that our client was unable to carry out in light of his diagnosis, a Fatal Accidents Act Bereavement Award in the sum of £12,980.00, funeral expenses and dependency claims for loss of income and services for our client’s loss of life expectancy caused by the mesothelioma. Claims for mesothelioma are extremely sensitive claims and as such, it is imperative that individuals instruct Solicitors with the necessary expertise in having dealt with these types of claims previously.  At Poole Alcock LLP, our Solicitors have over 15 years’ experience in helping individuals claim compensation for asbestos related claims.  We understand the journey that our clients are facing and we are prepared to fight for your claim every step of the way. Should you wish to discuss any of the issues highlighted in this news artless, please feel free to contact Anna Burns on 01270 762325 or Anna.Burns@poolealcock.co.uk