Successful claim for mesothelioma against William Press
Background
Boyes Turner's mesothelioma lawyers were instructed by the widow of a man who had died at the age of 67 from malignant mesothelioma to investigate a claim for compensation.
Her husband became unwell in the Spring of 2005 and was found to have lung cancer. He underwent a lobectomy and was subsequently also diagnosed with mesothelioma from which he died in October 2005.
He had instructed a specialist London law firm to investigate the claim for compensation during his lifetime, but they had failed to take a lifetime statement from him.
The law firm had investigated his main employer, Park Sectional, for whom he had worked for several months in 1967/1968/1969 but had been unable to trace them or their insurers. They did not ask him about the rest of his employment history. Instead they had sent him application forms for IIDB and under the Pneumoconiosis Workers Compensation Scheme which he completed.
In these claim forms he had focused on his exposure to asbestos dust at Park Sectional but had not referred to his exposure to asbestos whilst working for two other employers, Bromley By Bow Gas Works in the 1950s and William Press in the 1960s during the conversion from town to natural gas.
An added complication came about when the cause of death was recorded as lung cancer not mesothelioma at the inquest.
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There was no direct evidence of the man's working conditions, therefore Boyes Turner had to obtain statements from other individuals doing a similar job for both the gas board and William Press. Our lawyers also obtained a statement from another employee who was working for William Press doing gas conversion work at the same time but who had not known him.
In addition, his wife also recalled seeing asbestos string in her husband’s tool kit and talking to him about his work at William Press.
Boyes Turner also had to obtain expert evidence about the man's which proved that he had died as a result of malignant mesothelioma and that the death certificate and inquest documentation was incorrect.
It was then necessary to consider:-
- What the prognosis of the lung cancer (for which he had undergone a lobectomy 6 months before his death) would have been in any event but for the mesothelioma.
- Whether there was a sufficient level of exposure to asbestos to be able to link the lung cancer to asbestos exposure in any event.
- If there was, the impact of the inability to track down Park Sectional and/or their insurers on the overall level of compensation.
The result
In November 2009 Master Whitaker ordered a show cause hearing against William Press and in January 2010 they made an offer in settlement in the sum of £105k.
This represents around 75-85% of the compensation that could have been awarded if it had been possible to link the lung cancer to the asbestos exposure and if the claims against both William Press and the Gas Board had been successful.
The settlement figure was in excess of the level of compensation that would have been awarded if it were not possible to link the lung cancer, or if the prognosis would not have been optimistic for the lung cancer in any event.
NB. Just after the settlement was agreed, evidence was received indicating there would have only been a 6-9 month prognosis for the lung cancer in any event.
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