Asbestos claims

Mr W contacted Hugh James specialist asbestos team following his diagnosis with mesothelioma, after a recommendation to get in touch with us from a lung cancer nurse specialist.

Mr W has been employed by Compass Sheet Metal between 1964 and 1975, and during this time was required to mix up asbestos lagging and apply it to pipework.

Hugh James’ specialist asbestos lawyers were already aware of the details of the defendant and their employers’ liability insurers, and were accordingly able to expedite the claim. Liability was quickly admitted, and an interim payment of £50,000 was provided.

The losses and expenses arising from Mr W’s illness, save for future treatment, were agreed in the sum of £235,000. In addition to this monetary compensation, an unlimited financial indemnity agreement was agreed to enable Mr W to undergo private immunotherapy treatment.
The matter was fully resolved within 10 months of instruction.

Mr N was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2018 and unfortunately passed away before having the opportunity to instruct solicitors.

Upon instruction by Mr N’s family, a copy of his HMRC schedule was obtained and it was considered likely that Mr N had been exposed to asbestos during the course of his employment with a regional electric company. It was imperative to the claim that witness evidence detailing such exposure was obtained and so extensive investigations were made to track down Mr N’s former colleagues.

After speaking with Mr N’s colleagues, it was established that during Mr N’s apprenticeship in the early 1960s, he had been exposed to asbestos both directly (from dismantling storage heaters that contained asbestos), and indirectly (from working close to carpenters on new residential builds).

After obtaining medical evidence in support of the claim, and preparing a detailed schedule detailing the losses and expenses arising from Mr N’s illness, the matter was resolved swiftly.

Ms W was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2015, following historic asbestos exposure with Urastone who were part of British Eurolite, where she worked between 1963 and 1965. Sadly, she passed away in April 2017, aged 74. It was estimated that her life expectancy had been reduced by 11 years as a result of her diagnosis of asbestos related cancer.

Urastone manufactured asbestos products, and Ms W was required to cut asbestos sheets to the shape of a gas terminal. Once cut to size, she placed the sheets in a mould which was put into a large industrial oven. After they had been removed, Ms W filed and sanded down the mould which exposed her to asbestos dust.

Following her death, a claim was brought on behalf of Ms W’s estate, Ms W was also a lifelong heavy smoker, and the key issue was whether she had suffered sufficient asbestos exposure in her short period of employment to satisfy Helsinki criteria. This was a particularly challenging issue in light of Ms W;s extensive smoking history however he matter was successfully resolved following negotiations with Urastone’s representatives

Ms H’s husband had developed mesothelioma and initially instructed another firm pursue a claim, however this firm were unable to identify the source of his asbestos exposure, and he sadly passed away within 4 months of diagnosis.

Hugh James were then contacted directly by family members, following a personal recommendation, having settled a similar case for a Spanish based claimant.

Hugh James gathered evidence through a variety of sources, and established that Mr H had previously worked for a large company for a number of years within a niche team. It was during this time that he had been exposed to asbestos. The the source of exposure was quickly identified due to our previous experience against this defendant.

Prior to diagnosis, Ms H and her husband had both worked full time. Mr H was an experienced carpenter, helping his children to develop properties in his free time, and Mrs H was left widowed with 3 children and unable to work as a result of his death. The damages received as a result of the claim will there provide invaluable financial support for the family into the future.

Mr R sadly passed away having suffered with mesothelioma. A claim was pursued on behalf of his estate. Mr R had been exposed to asbestos whilst working on the construction of a housing estate during his employment with Scudamore and Thomas. Unfortunately, it was not possible to identify employers’ liability insurance for the company.

In light of the lack of insurance, a decision was taken to pursue Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd in respect of a product liability claim against Cape who were the manufacturers of asbestolux, which is what Mr R had used on site.

A product liability claim was pursued; something which is unusual in the UK, and was therefore a novel point of law. The claim settled shortly after it had been issued at court, and before the court proceedings had been formally served upon Cape.

Mr P contacted us following his diagnosis with mesothelioma.  Mr P had worked at Triang Toys in Merthyr Tydfil in his early 20s where he was exposed to asbestos whilst working in the warehouse. The girders in the warehouse were lined with asbestos insulation to protect against fire. Unfortunately, the asbestos insulation was damaged by forklift trucks which frequently collided with the girders, damaging the asbestos insulation triggering the release of asbestos dust. into the atmosphere and onto the workmen below.

Mr P was keen to settle his case within his lifetime, and we were able to secure an early admission for him, and then settle his case shortly thereafter, in accordance with his wishes.

We were instructed by Mrs B following her diagnosis with mesothelioma. At the time of her diagnosis Mrs B did not know where she had been exposed to asbestos.

Mrs B had worked as secretary to a factory manager at Harker Stagg Ltd (a subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ineglheim) for two years after leaving school.

Following extensive investigations it was established that the factory Mrs B had worked in was lined with asbestos sheets. Mrs B was able to recall typing up reports in the laboratory attached to the factory on a daily basis. On occasions the maintenance team repaired and replaced the asbestos sheets located in the ceiling of the laboratory whilst Mrs B was going about her work. The disturbance of the sheets caused asbestos dust to be released into the atmosphere around Mrs B.

Upon confirmation that the building contained asbestos medical evidence was obtained in support of Mrs B’s claim. Following swift negotiations with the defendant our specialist asbestos lawyers settled Mrs B’s claim for £113,000.

Mr S was diagnosed with mesothelioma arising from his exposure to asbestos dust during his school holiday at the age of 17, Mr S spent two weeks working for Metal Box Co Ltd in Neath, South Wales. Mr S’s job was to climb inside large industrial ovens which were lined with asbestos and scrape away the old asbestos insulation. Mr S went home covered in asbestos dust each day. Many other schoolboys were employed by the company in similar roles stripping out old asbestos insulation.

Many years later Mr S was diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by his previous asbestos exposure. and following his diagnosis Mr S instructed Hugh James specialist asbestos lawyers. An interim payment of £50,000 was quickly obtained from Metal Box Co Ltd and judgment entered against the company whilst the full value of Mr S’s claim was investigated. The claim was swiftly resolved thereafter for a sum in excess of £300,000.