Mesothelioma compensation claims

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Mesothelioma and the uses of asbestos

Asbestos was often used for roofing and insulation purposes, most particularly in the construction and shipping industries.

Workers (or their families) in the following occupations in the UK have successfully claimed compensation for contracting mesothelioma:

• Laggers
• Joiners
• Boiler attendants
• Painters
• Roofers
• Car mechanics
• Maintenance workers
• Fire protection workers
• Shipyard workers
• Plumbers
• Asbestos factory workers
• Locomotive Engineers
• Power station workers
• Vicinity workers
• Cohabiting relatives of asbestos workers

Types of asbestos

The 3 principal forms of asbestos are:

• Chrysotile (white asbestos)
• Amosite (brown asbestos)
• Crocidolite (blue asbestos)

Characteristics of mesothelioma

In the UK, about 80-90% of mesotheliomas can be traced to blue or brown asbestos. There is little evidence to indicate that the condition is caused by white asbestos.

Mesothelioma affects the covering of the lung, and less commonly, the lining of the abdomen. The disease can take 20-50 years or even longer to develop.

Mesotheliomas are generally very resistant to any form of therapy and carry a grave prognosis. The disease can be caused by relatively low exposures.

Legal considerations

So as to advance a mesothelioma compensation claim based upon negligence, we will need to provide a positive answer to the following questions:

• Did somebody else owe you a duty of care?
• Was there a breach of duty?
• Did the exposure actually cause your mesothelioma?

Duty of Care

In a mesothelioma compensation claim, our first step is to establish that a "duty of care" (or legal responsibility) was owed to you. If there was an employer/employee relationship, then the duty of care is self-evident.

As regards contractors, then generally the "occupiers" of the site (ie those in charge of the works) were likely to have owed a duty of care. This duty will cover the state of the premises, which in turn will include the production of asbestos dust and its extraction.

Breach of duty

Our next step is to prove breach of duty.

Usually, this aspect will be dealt with by factual evidence, such as:

• No warnings about asbestos
• No dust extraction equipment was provided
• No respirators and/or an insufficient supply of filters

We will also need to consider the foreseeability of harm.

Foreseeability

So as to establish foreseeability in a mesothelioma compensation claim, we must obtain evidence of the following:

• Description of the circumstances of your exposure
• The type of asbestos used. Different types of asbestos present different levels of danger, for example, crocidolite (blue asbestos) can be roughly 500 times more dangerous than chrysotile (white asbestos)
• The length of your exposure
• The level of your exposure over the period in question

Causation

Provided all of the above has been established, our next question to consider is "causation", in other words, that your mesothelioma was actually caused by exposure in question.

To establish causation, it is necessary first to have a diagnosis of your condition. Secondly a medical expert must confirm the link between your exposure and your condition.

As a rule, the treating physician will have given most claimants a diagnosis before they seek mesothelioma legal advice.

Previous Claims

I have previously helped a number of different victims of asbestos exposure (and their widows) to obtain compensation, including:

• A carpenter exposed to asbestos dust by the work of nearby insulation contractors, while working at a new TV centre in Birmingham;



• A production worker exposed to large quantities of asbestos dust while employed at the Dicks Eagle asbestos factory in East London;



• An apprentice carpenter working in Southampton from 1967-71 who was exposed to asbestos dust by his employers;



• A labourer (and later painter) employed by the Ministry of Defence at HM Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth. He spent much of his time working alongside laggers and other workmen whose job it was to remove, mix and renew asbestos lagging insulating the machinery on board ships;



• An bricklayer's labourer, who helped overhaul brick-lined ships' furnaces aboard ships under repair, and in the process was exposed to asbestos dust. He later worked as a boilermaker's mate and his exposure continued;



• A plumber and pipefitter from Gloucester who came into contact with asbestos dust while employed by a large commercial firm, and who later contracted mesothelioma.

mesothelioma compensation claim