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About Asbestos

If you or a member of your family is suffering from an asbestos related disease, it is possible that our specialist personal injury lawyers could help you to claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

What is Asbestos?

Common Uses of Asbestos
When is Asbestos Harmful?
Industrial Disease Claims
Compensation
Our Industrial Disease Lawyers

Successful Claims for Asbestos Related Diseases

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a natural substance that was widely used for a number of purposes due to its hard wearing, heat resistant nature. There are three main types of asbestos, namely blue, brown and white. They each have different properties:

• Blue asbestos, or crocidolite, has been used in textiles due to its relative flexibility. This has been banned from use and import in the UK since 1985.
• Brown asbestos, or amosite, was often used in insulating materials and is more brittle. Again, this has not been in legal use in the UK since 1985.
• White asbestos, or chrysotile, is smoother in texture and softer that the other forms, however is still as hard wearing and was commonly found in building materials such as cement. This has been almost completely banned since 1999, with only a few exceptions.

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Common Uses of Asbestos

Due to its versatile nature, asbestos has been previously used in various industries and can still be found in many buildings even today (as, when undisturbed and undamaged it is not considered harmful and is often left in place).  Some of the more common places that asbestos could be found include:

• Insulating materials, such as lagging around pipes and boilers, insulating boards, duct covers and packing between partition walls
• Tiles on floors and ceilings
• Certain types of Artex
• Heat resistant roofing felts and fire blankets
• Guttering and water downpipes made using asbestos cement
• Vehicle brake linings and brake shoes

Employees in certain occupations are at a higher risk of having been exposed to asbestos, for example:

• Electrical engineers
• Plumbers
• Heating engineers
• Construction workers
• Vehicle mechanics
• Workers producing asbestos products
• Shipbuilders

There are also some known cases of asbestos related illnesses occurring in people who have not worked directly with asbestos themselves.  For example, family members of asbestos workers who brought home contaminated work clothing to be washed can also develop illnesses.

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When is Asbestos Harmful?

Unfortunately, asbestos can be very harmful to humans when inhaled. As it comprises of many microscopic fibres, handling, breaking or working asbestos without sufficient protection can cause these fibres to enter the lungs.

This is also true of asbestos that is in place but becomes damaged or disturbed.

Asbestos dust can cause the lungs to become scarred and damaged, which can result in a number of conditions, including asbestosis, mesothelioma, pleural plaques and some cancers.

A significant number of men over the age of 40 in the UK, up to 1 in 100, and some women, are affected by asbestos related conditions. Luckily, many of these industrial diseases are non fatal, such as pleural thickening.

These type of diseases do not show themselves quickly after exposure. They can take many years to develop. By then the person you need to make a claim against (perhaps an employer) may no longer be alive or in business. Pursuing these claims is complicated and is best dealt with by an experienced personal injury lawyer.

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Industrial Disease Claims

In every case, medical evidence will be required. Detailed expert evidence is often also required in disease cases to show that the condition suffered by a claimant was caused by exposure to a particular substance.

In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.

For more detailed information on the industrial disease claims process, see our asbestos compensation claims information page.

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Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after your illness that you used to be able to do before, eg, wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog, etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an illness is diagnosed or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the illness, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the you had never developed a disease.

If you are unlucky enough to suffer an asbestos related disease where there is a risk of serious deterioration (for example if you have asbestosis and there is a future risk of mesothelioma) you may be entitled to ask for a provisional award of damages. This compensates you with an award of compensation on the assumption that your condition will not deteriorate, but allows you or your family to go back to court for a further award if the worst happens. Alternatively, you can accept a final award if you so wish. The Legal Line lawyers will advise you what the best course of action is in your case and explain the options in plain English.

If an asbestos victim has already died, it is still possible for a claim to be pursued by the family. If the claim is successful, the compensation award for pain and suffering will go to the victim’s estate (very often the widow for example), and there may also be an award under the Fatal Accidents Acts.

The same applies if the claimant dies while the legal case is proceeding. The Legal Line lawyers will be able to continue with the case so as to obtain compensation for the victim’s family and explain who is entitled to the award.

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Our Industrial Disease Lawyers

At The Legal Line, our lawyers have specialist knowledge of the law relating to asbestos related disease and claiming damages for victims, so can offer expert legal advice and assistance to anyone that has been affected.

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Successful Claims for Asbestos Related Diseases

Our specialist lawyers have extensive experience in recovering compensation for the innocent victims of asbestos related diseases.  Details of some of the many cases they have handled can be found below, plus more articles in our news and success stories sections:

• Our client’s husband died from mesothelioma in 2004, less than a month after receiving his diagnosis and only 2 months after they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, leaving behind both his wife and their daughter.

  This devastating illness was caused by exposure to asbestos during his time working as an engineer for BT. He first began to suffer respiratory problems a few years previously, and was diagnosed with asbestosis, however he had remained in reasonable health until the mesothelioma developed.

  Only 63 years old and previously a very active man, his condition deteriorated rapidly. He was constantly tired, breathless and unable to do anything for himself, suffering night sweats, weight loss and pain. His wife had to give up her part time job and provide round the clock care and he required morphine and oxygen to help with his symptoms.

  Thompsons had acted previously for the client's husband when he received a provisional award of damages in respect of his asbestosis in 2001. This was made on the basis that he would not develop any further asbestos related disease. Unfortunately, mesothelioma was diagnosed 3 years later so our specialist industrial disease lawyers were able to take further action and recovered £240,000 compensation for our client. This was in respect of her husband’s pain and suffering, care costs, funeral expenses and past and future losses resulting from his death.

• In his role as a Safety Officer during the 1970s and 1980s, our client was required to supervise asbestos removal in the demolition of old plant buildings. He would spend a large part of each day working in areas where asbestos lagging was being stripped from pipes, buildings and equipment. There was a lot of asbestos dust in the air and he was not provided with a protective mask or advised about the dangers associated with inhaling asbestos fibres. The areas being demolished were also not sealed off properly, so asbestos dust was released into the general environment.

  He began to suffer chest pain and a deterioration in his health, so sought medical advice and was diagnosed with the asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, following some tests at hospital.

  Devastated at being told he had a terminal illness when he should have been enjoying his retirement, he appointed our expert industrial disease solicitors to assist him in making a compensation claim against his former employer. They secured a settlement of £103,000 in respect of the pain and suffering caused by his illness, his reduced life expectancy, the costs of care and assistance and other financial losses affecting the claimant and his family resulting from the disease.

• Our client was exposed to asbestos over a number of years during his time as a Lift Engineer. He installed and maintained lifts in various commercial premises, including hospitals and factories, where laggers, joiners and other tradesmen were using asbestos around him. He also had to work in basements and lift shafts where a lot of asbestos was present. He was later employed by a company that manufactured ceramic pipes, which involved working around kilns and he was given asbestos gloves to wear.

  Throughout this period our client was not warned about the dangers of asbestos and his employers did not provide any protective equipment. He developed breathing problems and his health deteriorated to the point where he was no longer able to work. Our client lost a lot of weight and his condition worsened, so he was sent for tests which revealed he was suffering from mesothelioma. This disease affects his mobility and he requires assistance from his wife with everyday tasks.

  Our expert industrial disease lawyers, who specialise in claims for asbestos-related illnesses, handled a compensation claim on his behalf and secured a settlement well in excess of £100,000 on his behalf.

• During the 1960s our client was employed as a hospital maintenance assistant. He spent time working in the boiler rooms of the hospital taking readings and carrying out general maintenance. The pipe work and boilers were insulated with asbestos. His work involved disturbing the asbestos. As a result the boiler room environment became dusty. However he was not provided with any respiratory protection by his employers or warned about the dangers of inhaling asbestos dust. He later worked as an engineering fitter’s mate for a different employer where he was also exposed to asbestos.

  In the late 1960s and early 1970s he began working as a fire protection improver / engineer at various commercial premises in the South East, including airports and hospitals. He and his colleagues erected and modified sprinkler systems, tanks and pumps which required drilling and cutting through ceilings that contained asbestos. There were also other men working nearby removing, or applying asbestos materials.

  Due to this history of negligent asbestos exposure our client was diagnosed with mesothelioma when he was still only in his fifties and working full-time. A previously active and healthy man, he enjoyed caravanning, golf, swimming and DIY, however his condition meant that he could no longer continue at work or his leisure activities. He underwent chemotherapy and moved into specially adapted accommodation with his wife. His mobility became severely restricted, he requires constant care and support due to his disability and severe pain.

  The claim against our client’s former employers was successfully pursued by our expert personal injury lawyers and a substantial sum of compensation was secured for him and his family.

Former Train Driver Receives Over £118,000 Mesothelioma Compensation

£35,000 Damages in Pleural Thickening Compensation Claim

Compensation for Mesothelioma Victim in Industrial Disease Claim

Asbestosis Compensation for Retired Former Rail Worker

Mesothelioma Compensation for Widow of Former Joiner

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