Home > Accident Types > UK Industrial Disease Claims > Mesothelioma

 

The Legal Line solicitors, Thompsons, are specialist personal injury solicitors with over 85 years of experience and a network of offices nationwide.

Bryan's Story...

"The Thompsons representative came and stayed a couple of hours and after that, took control of the situation.

She was brilliant - she wrote and phoned me regularly and kept me in the picture."

"I am satisfied with my settlement, which will go to my estate and children.

I am... grateful for the efficiency and dedication of Thompsons Solicitors."

Mr Bryan Brown, quoted above, successfully claimed compensation for asbestos-related illness through Thompsons Solicitors.

If we can help you, please contact us on 0800 032 8511.

Every penny of compensation won is yours.

If we proceed with your claim it will be on a no-cost-to-you basis.

Asbestos is the greatest single cause of work-related illnesses and deaths in the UK and a damning indictment of previous corporate negligence.

 

Here are 5 vital points that could affect your claim.

1 Timing. If you have an asbestos-related condition seek legal advice promptly - there are time limits on making a claim.

Should Thompsons proceed with your claim it will be on a no-cost-to-you basis.

You will get 100% of the settlement achieved and not a penny less.

If you are a member of a trade union, use your union's legal scheme.

2 Where were you exposed to asbestos? It's important to think back to the time, or times, possibly long ago, when you believe you were exposed.

3 Liability. Your employer is, or was, responsible for protecting you from exposure to asbestos at work.

Even if your employer no longer exists we may still be able to help you pursue a claim.

4 Compensation. Our aim is to maximise your compensation.

We will claim compensation on your behalf for all past and future losses.

5 State Benefit claims. You may be entitled to industrial injuries disablement benefit and/or other state benefits.

What to do next

For further information and free expert legal advice call 0800 032 8511.

 

Experts in Mesothelioma Compensation Claims

 

If you or a member of your family is suffering from mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos, 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 Mesothelioma?
Causes of Mesothelioma
Can I Claim Mesothelioma Compensation?
Damages
Specialist Mesothelioma Compensation Claim Advice
Legal Battle for Mesothelioma Victims
Changes to the Compensation Bill

Justice for Families Affected by Asbestos
Successful Mesothelioma Compensation Claims

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is the given name for the types of cancer that can be caused by exposure to Asbestos.  There are three variants of the disease, as follows:

• Pericardial Mesothelioma – This is the rarest form of the disease, affecting the heart and the area around it.
• Peritoneal Mesothelioma – Again a less common type of Mesothelioma, this condition affects the stomach and abdomen.
• Pleural Mesothelioma – The most common form of the illness, affecting the lungs.

Each of these conditions is attributed to the inhalation of asbestos fibres, most commonly through working with the substance without sufficient protection.  Symptoms include pain in the chest, difficulty breathing, palpitations and stomach pain, dependent upon the type of mesothelioma that the sufferer has.

[Back to Top]

Causes of Mesothelioma

Generally, mesothelioma is caused when a person is exposed to and inhales asbestos fibres over a period of time.  This can occur due to working conditions, or in some cases can affect the families of people who have worked with asbestos and brought home contaminated clothing to be cleaned.

Asbestos fibres irritate the lung when inhaled and can cause the cancer to form.  It is also possible for the fibres to travel over time to certain other organs, as outlined above.

[Back to Top]

Can I Claim Mesothelioma Compensation?

If you have been diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma, or believe that you may have the condition, it is possible that you may be able to make an asbestos compensation claim.  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.

Asbestos-related 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. 

[Back to Top]

Damages

There are two elements to an award of damages, or compensation as it is also known. 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 reimburses you for any actual losses and can include an award for your inability to do things that you used to be able to do before, eg, bathing, doing DIY, shopping, etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period 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 your industrial disease, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the illness had never occurred.

[Back to Top]

Specialist Mesothelioma Compensation Claim Advice

The Legal Line specialist personal injury lawyers are experts in all areas of industrial disease and claims for illnesses caused by asbestos, having recovered compensation for many innocent victims, so can provide you with advice and guidance with your mesothelioma compensation claim.

It may also be possible to make a posthumous claim if you suspect that a relative may have died as a result of asbestos related mesothelioma, as in the recent case below:

Widower received compensation after his wife died from mesothelioma

[Back to Top]

Legal Battle for Mesothelioma Victims

A judgement was made in May 2006 by the House of Lords in Barker v Corus and conjoined cases.  It held that victims of mesothelioma and their families would no longer be entited to full damages when there is more than one negligent employer and at least one of those is either no longer in existence or without traceable insurance.

This decision meant that many claimants could lose up to 90% of their compensation and the insurance industry would save millions of pounds each year. It was further to a 2002 case, Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd, where the House of Lords ruled that a worker could sue any of the employers that wrongfully exposed them to asbestos, even though it would not be possible to prove which exposure caused the disease. 

The Fairchild case did not, however, resolve the issue of whether liability should be apportioned amongst employers / occupiers or if they should all be held jointly and severally liable, which was the subject of Barker.

[Back to Top]

Changes to the Compensation Bill

The Legal Line's lawyers, together with trade unions and asbestos groups, campaigned to the government to change the law, staging a protest outside the House of Lords on the day of the ruling, so that all negligent parties in each case would be held jointly and severally liable.

The Prime Minister gave hope to the campaign when he said that he 'regretted' the Lords' decision and would look into ways that it could be changed.

On 20th June it was announced by the Department of Constitutional Affairs that an amendment would be made to the Compensation Bill currently passing through parliament to reverse the Barker decision.  This will enable the innocent victims of this terrible disease to recover full compensation from any relevant employer.

[Back to Top]

Justice for Families Affected by Asbestos

Our lawyers are also campaigning to have changes made to the compensation system, so that relatives in England and Wales are entitled to the same level of compensation for bereavement as families are in Scotland.  See our campaigns page on improving mesothelioma claims handling , our news article Justice for the Families of Mesothelioma Victims and our e-petition for further information.

BBC News also reported this matter, see their article on the Mesothelioma Damages Bill here and their article on our campaign to 'increase asbestos pay-outs'.

Articles by the North West Evening Mail, Shields Gazette, Sunderland Echo and ASLEF Journal also highlight the subject, and include comments from The Legal Line's lawyers.

[Back to Top]

Successful Mesothelioma Compensation Claims

Read details of successful mesothelioma compensation claims handled by our specialist lawyers:

• Although suffering progressive symptoms for some time, when our client’s husband was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, he had only another month to live. During this work related illness, he had experienced breathlessness for which he was admitted to hospital several times, where he had to undergo repeated chest drainage. He was also provided at home with oxygen to help his breathing, and pain relief which was not entirely successful. He suffered loss of appetite and substantial weight loss, and as he was aware that these were symptoms of a fatal condition, he was understandably distressed.
  
  Only just in his 70’s, the couple had been married for over 50 years and were enjoying their retirement together. He was still an active man until struck down by this industrial disease. He had recently redecorated their home, and landscaped the garden before he began to suffer the symptoms of an, as yet undiagnosed, asbestos related disease.
  
  The early years of his working life were spent in the construction industry and factories, as well as a period in the army, but for over 30 years, he had worked for the defendant in and around the area where he lived. His work required him often to work in confined spaces where asbestos was used to lag pipes and there was little or no ventilation. He was also provided with asbestos in a tin. A bit of asbestos was taken out, added to water and rolled into a wall plug for use in fixing cables.
  
  His work often took him into old buildings which held substantial quantities of asbestos in the insulation, flooring and ducting, and he was required to cut and drill into the asbestos to gain access to pipes and cables. This resulted in disturbance of the old insulation and he would then have been exposed to asbestos fibres which he then inhaled.
  
  Rising to a supervisory role, her husband would have continued to receive exposure to asbestos dust as his team carried out these same duties, again in confined spaces. At the end of his working day, his overalls would be dusty with asbestos fibres and they would either be dusted down or taken home for washing.
  
  Although court proceedings were issued by our specialist mesothelioma lawyer, agreement was reached with the defendant prior to trial and our lawyers were able to agree mesothelioma compensation of £100,000 for our client for the loss of her husband, both financially and, more importantly, as her life-long companion
  
• A tradesman working for most of his working life in the shipyards, our client had been exposed to asbestos fibres throughout his life. Sadly, he died in 2005, before his claim for mesothelioma compensation could be completed, and our specialist mesothelioma lawyers were asked to continue to represent the executors of his estate.
  
  Although not required to handle asbestos personally, he was constantly working alongside laggers who were applying asbestos insulation to hot water and steam pipes resulting in his exposure to asbestos. In the early years, the insulation paste was created by tipping sacks of asbestos into a drum and adding water. During this process, a cloud of asbestos fibres would billow into the air and not only exposed those working in the immediate vicinity such as our client, but as there was no extraction available, the dust invaded all areas of the ship.
  
  In later years, the paste was partly replaced by pre-formed sections which had to be cut with a handsaw. Joiners also used asbestos sheeting which had to be cut to size, again generating clouds of dust, and leaving debris on the floor. This was later swept up but only served to throw the dust back into the air. At the end of every shift, our client’s clothes, face, hands and hair would be covered with a thick layer of asbestos fibres.
  
  In 2003, as a result of this work related illness, our client began to experience symptoms such as breathlessness and chest pains, and was admitted to hospital where a chest x-ray and other tests confirmed he had developed the asbestos related disease, malignant mesothelioma. By the following year, he was extremely breathless, suffered pain all over his body, and required oxygen constantly. He was unable to walk any distance or do anything which required exertion. In his late 70’s, our client had always carried out household chores, shopping, heavy lifting, and DIY. He was now unable to help with any of these tasks.
  
  As is often the case in these tragic circumstances, our client was only able to benefit from an interim payment in his lifetime of £25,000. However, his health continued to decline rapidly and in 2005, he died in the hospice which had provided palliative care for him during his last months. Our solicitors who specialise in mesothelioma compensation claims were able to claim total damages of almost £70,000 because of this industrial disease.
  
• Although only together for a few years, our client was devastated when her husband died following an operation which was performed after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The operation was to remedy his stomach problems, thought to be a result of the morphine medication he was taking for the asbestos related disease, but he developed complications, including pneumonia, which lead to his death.
  
  The symptoms of his industrial disease were first apparent in 2003, when he became breathless whilst carrying out DIY work in the garden. He went to see his GP who referred him for 3 separate x-rays, though these did not confirm the cause at that time. He soon developed pains in his chest and was eventually diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma. He was understandably shocked and angry that his life had been cut so short, and our client was distraught at the thought of losing him so soon.

  He started to suffer night sweats as a result of this work related illness, and rapidly began losing a lot of weight. He was in a great deal of pain and eventually had to be treated in hospital as his medication at home, which included morphine tables, was not sufficient to control his pain.

  Although our client had been retired for a couple of years, she had to return to work because of the financial pressures caused by her husband’s premature death.

  This mesothelioma claim was a complex case. Although there were 2 employers who had exposed our client’s husband to asbestos, it was discovered that one company was uninsured and had no assets to pay the claim. Her claim was pursued against the other company which was insured. At the time the claim was brought, the law stated that employers who negligently exposed employees to asbestos were individually liable to pay compensation in full. Before her case was concluded, the House of Lords ruled in May 2006 that, because she was only able to bring the claim against one company, she was only entitled to receive a small part of the value of her claim.

  As a result of a campaign which our solicitors supported, the Government stepped in and changed the law in July 2006 so that our client, and many other people in her position, could obtain compensation in full, even if they were not able to bring a claim against all of the employers who were to blame for the asbestos exposure.

  Our specialist mesothelioma lawyers were able to secure a substantial sum of over £100,000 for our client in full settlement of her claim. As a result, she was able to consider retirement again.

• Very often, our specialist asbestos solicitors successfully handle a mesothelioma compensation claim or asbestosis claim, for clients who have endured a lifetime exposure to asbestos fibres. In this tragic case however, our client was only exposed for a very short period during his many years of employment for the defendant. On this one occasion, he was asked to travel to one of their sites to repair some lighting in a machine shop which manufactured asbestos insulation blankets.
  
  It was during this period that he suffered exposure to asbestos dust. One of the fluorescent tubes dropped down, hitting him on the shoulder, and showering him with the dust which had accumulated during the manufacturing process. He had to go outside and shake the dust from his hair and clothes. The machine shop was itself very dusty with the asbestos fibres, and he would have inhaled these during the time he was on this site, as well as receiving the direct dusting from the light fitting.

  In addition, there was a mill outside the machine shop where asbestos was mixed to make paste for use in the insulation of valves. The floors around the mill were covered with asbestos dust, spilt during the mixing process, and our client had to walk through this dust several times a day.

  He worked for other organisations during his working life where he was not exposed to asbestos. In the 1980’s he took a career change and became a lecturer, and even carried on working part-time after his official retirement.

  He had been experiencing back pain for a couple of years, but when his condition deteriorated and he was breathless all the time, he went to see his GP who referred him to hospital. There he underwent a biopsy and his lungs were drained. He was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma. It was only 8 months later that our client died from this fatal industrial disease, leaving his wife of many years, and a son.

  Although past retirement age, before his illness, our client had been fit and active, swimming and cycling on a regular basis. He maintained the family home and gardens regularly, even completing major DIY projects to improve the house.

  Following acceptance of liability by the defendant, an initial offer to our client’s widow was rejected, but a second improved offer was accepted. Our specialist mesothelioma lawyers were able to negotiate £150,000 in mesothelioma compensation on behalf of our client’s estate, and his widow’s claim for financial dependency.

• Having lost his mother a few years earlier, our client was also to lose his father prematurely, from the tragic, fatal industrial disease, mesothelioma. Having spent a long and full working life in the building trade as a bricklayer, with a short spell in the Army, his father had worked for many organisations as was the habit in the trade at that time.

  Completing his apprenticeship as a bricklayer, he went on to work on all types of structures, including housing, banks, hospitals, office blocks, and blocks of flats. It was in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s, that he went to work for the defendant, and was to stay with them until he retired some 15 years later. This was to prove the cause of his eventual fatal work-related illness.

  During this last period, he was responsible for supervising workers during refurbishment of various properties which included ceiling tiles being removed and replaced, light fittings replaced, panelling around lift shafts being ripped out, most of which involved the use of asbestos. Although not physically handing the asbestos himself, our client’s father was on site whilst this work was taken place and would have been continually exposed to the asbestos fibres and the huge clouds of dust normally created.

  To maintain fitness, his father had been a keen swimmer, routinely swimming five times a week. When his breathing meant he could no longer cope, he had to give it up. Eventually, returning from a holiday which had proved very tiring, he went to see his GP, who sent him by ambulance to hospital. He underwent a chest x-ray and was admitted to hospital so that a chest drain could be carried out to remove fluid from his lungs. This improved his condition for a while and he was even able to manage the stairs when he returned home. Within a couple of months however, he was referred to a consultant and was advised that he was suffering from the fatal industrial disease, mesothelioma.

  His father had lived in his flat for many years and was very happy there. He had tried to maintain his independence following the death of his wife, but as it was on the second floor, with no lift, eventually he was forced to go into a hospice when his breathing difficulties made the stairs impossible. He undertook a course of radiotherapy but less than 5 months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, he sadly died from this devastating, aggressive disease.

  Although the defendant did not initially formally admit liability for this mesothelioma claim, there was a history of other mesothelioma compensation claims against the same defendant. These involved other employees in similar roles to that of our client’s father. Our specialist mesothelioma lawyers were able to negotiate a sum of £35,000 in compensation for his fathers suffering and his own loss of a father.

• Mesothelioma is a devastating industrial disease which can develop many years after the sufferer received exposure to asbestos. In the case of this client, his exposure was during the years of his apprenticeship and he was only in his mid 50’s when the effects of this asbestos related disease began to take their toll, cutting short his life expectancy by many years.
  
  Most of his working life has been spent in theatres and TV studios where asbestos was used extensively, particularly in the lining of spotlights used in TV studios. Carbon rods in these spotlights had to be replaced several times a day and each time, as the lamp was opened, the asbestos sheet would be exposed. If the light had been dropped or damaged, the asbestos sheet would also be damaged. As the lamp was opened, dust and bits of asbestos lining would fall out.

  As more intense lighting was installed, the increased heat meant that the air conditioning, situated up in the grids, also had to be upgraded. This required the laggers to knock off the asbestos insulation with hammers and the pieces and dust would just be allowed to fall to the floor below, creating clouds of dust in the air. There was no ventilation or extraction and anyone working in the area would have had to inhale the asbestos fibres.

  Our client was not warned of the dangers of exposure to asbestos, or provided with any mask or protective equipment. Neither was he routinely provided with overalls, so he often had to brush the asbestos from his own clothes before travelling home. The dust would stick to his hair and be difficult to remove.

  He enjoyed his current role and had planned to stay there until he retired. Although he tried to work as long as possible, he was unable to return to work following his diagnosis with mesothelioma in 2005.

  His symptoms had started with a mere cough but as he began to have difficulty breathing, his GP referred him for an x-ray. This identified fluid (pleural effusion) on the lung and he was admitted to hospital where it was drained. His health improved somewhat following this, but as the lung filled with fluid again, his breathing became more difficult. Over the next few months, he underwent more lung drains, CT scans and a biopsy, and many other tests, which eventually led to the diagnosis of this work related illness.

  The defendant’s insurers admitted negligent exposure but were reluctant to negotiate a settlement for this mesothelioma claim. Court proceedings were therefore issued by our specialist asbestos solicitor but before the trial date, agreement was reached. We were able to secure £180,000 in mesothelioma compensation for our client, which he was happy to accept so that he could put the case behind him.

Owners of Blackpool Tower sued for £76,000 after former employee died from asbestos cancer

Justice for Families Affected by Asbestos

[Back to Top]