70-year-old Mr S worked for British Steel between 1976 and 1980.  He was a coke oven operative and would spend his days working where the coke was made by dropping coal into batteries of ovens from hoppers above them.  There was a lot of asbestos lagged pipework around the plant and on top of the ovens that was in poor repair and required quite a lot of maintenance.  Repairing the pipe lagging created a lot of asbestos dust, to which Mr S was exposed.

No masks or warnings of exposure to asbestos

Whilst Mr S was provided with overalls, that were washed by British Steel, he was not given a mask or any warnings about the dangers of exposure to dust.

During the rest of his career, Mr S was only exposed to asbestos once more when working for a company that went out to buildings to remove the asbestos.  Here he worked in a much more controlled environment, although there was some exposure when he changed the filters on a filter pack he used and when he was close to the area where industrial hoovers were emptied.

Doctors diagnose mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos

In 2013, Mr S started to become breathless on exertion.  X-rays and a CAT scan confirmed that he was suffering from mesothelioma.  Mr S contacted Graysons to see if he could claim compensation from his previous employers.

Looking at the facts, Graysons advised that only British Steel (then Tata Steel) should be pursued for compensation.  British Steel denied liability and Graysons issued court proceedings.  Shortly after this, liability was admitted.  Unfortunately, Mr S then died and Belinda negotiated a settlement of £202,000 with British Steel on behalf of his son.

If you have suffered due to exposure to asbestos, or a member of your family has died due to an illness resulting from exposure, contact our experts now.  We will arrange a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case.  You can also find out more about claiming compensation for an asbestos-related disease on our web pages.