Our specialist asbestos claims lawyers were instructed by Mr G who developed diffuse pleural thickening as a result of exposure to asbestos during his employment by seven different companies.Mr G was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres when he was employed as a welder/foreman by William Gray & Company Limited; Hartlepool Erection Company Limited; Hartlepool Steel Fabrications Limited; SHSEGL Realisations Limited; Lowton Engineers Limited; John Laing Construction Limited; and Tata Steel Europe Limited from 1959 until 1985. Mr G worked in the engine rooms of ships carrying out repair work. Before carrying out any repair work asbestos lagging was removed from the pipework by labourers who used hammers and saws and their hands to do so. The pipework under repair was re-lagged by laggers who mixed up dry asbestos with water in a drum before applying the same as paste. This work was undertaken in the proximity of Mr G whilst he was present in the engine rooms. Mr G also worked on site at a large steel works and at other industrial sites. He worked alongside laggers who used preformed sections of asbestos lagging for insulation which they cut to size without any particular care so that significant amounts of asbestos dust and debris were thrown up into the air. Mr G also worked at building oil rigs. There were pipes on the oil rigs under construction which were lagged with asbestos by laggers who worked in proximity to Mr G. When Mr G worked as a foreman, he worked all over the sites, overseeing the work carried out by welders and other tradesmen and he was often exposed to asbestos dust and fibres as a result of walking near areas where laggers were mixing up dry asbestos with water before applying the same as paste.Some years after his retirement, Mr G fell ill and was diagnosed with diffuse pleural thickening. He had a chest drain inserted into his chest and fluid was drained.Expert medical evidence was obtained and Court proceedings were commenced against the seven companies which employed Mr G when he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres. Each of the seven defendants served a defence to the Court proceedings. One of the defendants contended in their defence that Mr G was out of time for making a claim. One of the defendants contended in their defence that Mr G was not entitled to make the claim in an English Court because he was working in Germany when he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres. Three of the defendants served formal requests for further information in relation to Mr G’s employment and his exposure to asbestos dust and fibres. The defendants obtained expert medical evidence of their own and the parties’ medical experts prepared a joint statement identifying the areas in which they agreed and disagreed.In November 2015 the Court entered judgment against the seven defendants and the Court listed the claim for hearing in February 2016. However, shortly before the hearing, the claim was concluded for the sum of £37,000.
