In March 2022 Martin Anderson, Associate Solicitor in Boyes Turner’s specialist mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team, was instructed by Roger* who had sadly been diagnosed with mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer.
Exposure
Roger was employed by Tillingbourne Valley Services Limited from around 1970 to 1972. He worked in the garage, doing maintenance work on the buses and also used to drive the old buses to the scrapyard.
He was exposed to asbestos when taking out the old brake shoes and relining them with new asbestos linings. Back in the early 1970s, there were no disc brakes and the linings of the brake shoes were all made from asbestos.
He removed the wheel and outer part of the drum. The drum would be filled with asbestos dust which had gathered due to the wear and tear that had resulted over time to the linings. He would then get a compressed airline which blew the dust out of the drum, resulting in it going all over his clothes, his hair and face. He then replaced the brake shoes with new ones.
Roger was not provided with any masks or protective clothing.
Settlement
Martin established that Tillingbourne Valley Services Limited were a dissolved company and that there was no insurance in place when Roger worked there that would cover a claim of this nature.
The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) allows individuals who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma to claim for compensation in the event that there is no company and no insurers to claim from. The amount an individual receives depends on how old they are when they were diagnosed with the asbestos related disease.
Martin visited Roger and took a detailed witness statement from him, detailing his employment history and how he was exposed to asbestos, before submitting a claim to the administrators of the DMPS. Sadly, Roger deteriorated rapidly and passed away shortly before the application was approved.
The compensation was paid to Roger’s widow. Although Roger did not have the benefit of this money during his lifetime, we hope that he would be pleased with this successful conclusion.
For more information about how the mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team can help you or your loved ones after a diagnosis of an asbestos related disease, please contact the team by email on [email protected] or by telephone on 0118 952 7199.
