Mr B had worked for a chemicals company in Chesterfield from 1953 to 1991.  He worked throughout the factory and did various jobs there.  He was first exposed to asbestos in 1955 when he moved to work in the sulphuric acid plant, working with large vessels which were coated annually with asbestos.  Taking off the old asbestos coating created lots of dust to which Mr B was exposed. From 1973 to 1991 he worked as a supervisor in the benzene plant where there was a lot of lagged pipework and asbestos coated vessels and where he was once again exposed to asbestos dust. There was no particular place for the asbestos to be disposed of safely and so it was just thrown into a skip with the other waste. He was never provided with dust masks or health and safety training relating to asbestos.

Mr B first noticed a bad cough in February 2017 and after various tests was diagnosed with mesothelioma.  He started chemotherapy in June 2017.  Thereafter, he suffered increasing weight loss, chest pain, fatigue, anxiety and severe breathlessness.  He received palliative care and family support and required an oxygen concentrator.

He contacted Belinda to see if could claim compensation and she pursued the company for which he had worked.  Belinda worked quickly and instructed experts and obtained medical reports from a consultant physician in chest diseases and general medicine. She also obtained evidence of potential losses involving consideration of life expectancy and pension.

The defendant company did not accept liability and Belinda issued court proceedings.  She instructed a barrister to prepare court papers including a complex schedule of damages.    Sadly, Mr B died in April 2018 and Belinda continued to work on behalf of his widow.  She obtained documents from the coroner relating to his death in addition to evidence in relation to the working practices at the employer’s premises.

This case was, as are all mesothelioma cases, complex in view of the very specialised work that has to be done very quickly. Belinda has vast experience in dealing with mesothelioma cases and was able to negotiate with the defendants who agreed a settlement of over £130,000 before the case went to trial.

If you feel that your illness has been caused by exposure to asbestos at work and you wish to discuss your case with one of our experts, contact us now.  We will arrange a free of charge meeting, at which we can let you know the likelihood of success of a claim.  You can also contact us if you wish to make a claim on behalf of someone who has died.  You can find out more about making a claim for industrial disease related to asbestos exposure on our website.