In June this year Boyes Turner’s Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Claims Team settled a fatal mesothelioma claim for a five-figure number for the estate of the deceased.
The Background
Roger* died in July 2020 at the age of 93. A post mortem took place and his Death Certificate confirmed that he died from mesothelioma. An inquest took place and the verdict of that inquest was that Roger’s death was related to industrial disease.
Roger’s son Tom* contacted Boyes Turner after the inquest to pursue a claim for compensation from the employers who had negligently exposed Roger to asbestos during the course of his employment.
Roger’s main source of exposure to asbestos was whilst he worked as an electrical engineer for James Kilpatrick & Son Limited, where he worked between 1965 and 1968. Whilst working for James Kilpatrick & Son, Roger did a lot of work on power stations.
The Claim
The claim was taken on by Melloney Harbutt, a Senior Associate Solicitor in Boyes Turner’s Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Claims Team, who brought the claim for Tom as Personal Representative of his father’s estate.
Roger had not been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease during his lifetime but became suspicious of it near the end of his life. Without a lifetime diagnosis there was no reason for Roger to contact a solicitor to bring a claim against his previous employers and he was too poorly. This meant there was no first-hand witness statement from Roger of how he came into contact with asbestos asbestos whilst working for Kilpatrick & Son. This made the claim more difficult and although Tom could give some information, recalling that the power stations used to lag their pipes with asbestos and that his father would be in close contact with those working directly on the pipework. He also said he father would have disturbed asbestos himself doing the work he was doing.
No work colleagues could be traced to support Tom’s evidence as to how his father had been exposed to asbestos and Tom’s mother had sadly passed away some 20 years ago.
However, Melloney was able to trace a supportive witness who had worked at the same power station as Roger. She took a statement from him about the working conditions at the power station and this statement, with Tom’s, was very useful in the successful conclusion of the case.
She then set about obtaining supportive medical evidence from an independent medical expert to confirm that Roger had been suffering and died from mesothelioma and that his asbestos exposure whilst employed by James Kilpatrick & Son had caused his mesothelioma on the balance of probabilities.
Melloney then put together details of the financial losses which Tom could include in the claim on behalf of his father’s estate.
Settlement
The claim was initiated against James Kilpatrick & Son’s insurers. Whilst those insurers never formally admitted liability for the claim, they made a quick offer to settle the claim once they had seen all of the supportive evidence, including the independent medical evidence. Melloney was able to secure a five-figure settlement for Roger’s estate without having to issue court proceedings, just a few months after the commencement of the claim.
Melloney acts exclusively for individuals and families affected by asbestos related diseases, such as pleural thickening, asbestosis, asbestos related lung cancer and mesothelioma.
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.
*anonymised for client confidentiality
