Imagine receiving the devastating news of a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. You’ve heard you might be entitled to compensation, but you’re unsure where to turn. Then, the first law firm you approach tells you they can’t take on your case due to insufficient prospects of success. What would you do next? This was the exact challenge faced by Steve*, a retired police officer. Thankfully, Melloney Harbutt and the mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team stepped in, willing and able to help pursue a claim for compensation for Steve, who had been exposed to asbestos over 50 years earlier. Exposure to asbestos in the police force Upon leaving school in late 1979 Steve joined the workforce. After a stopgap job to earn some money, Steve joined the Police Cadets in January 1980. As a Cadet, Steve and others were based and trained at a multitude of sites and buildings. Sites such as the Lippitts Hill Firearms Training Base contained asbestos and were in a poor state of repair during Steve’s time at the facilities. While stationed at the Peckham Police Station as a Cadet between April and November 1981 Steve spent much of his time in the basement, closed off from the world and doing what every Cadet dreams of sorting Police records, doing administrative work and tidying archived files. Steve’s new home away from home was dirty and dusty. Overhead pipework covered with decaying asbestos lagging was about the only decorative feature of the basement. Upon leaving Peckham Police Station, Steve graduated from Cadets and moved to Hendon Police Training College. While at the college, Steve’s home station became the St Mary Cray Police Station, with a below ground level section of the station being fitted with a corrugated asbestos roof. The roof of this section protruded at approximately knee height for those walking around outside at ground level. Being at this height the roof would regularly be sat on, knocked and damaged. Moss and mould were scraped off it from time to time, further disturbing the asbestos. Inside this section of the building itself were a locker room and toilet blocks. From the inside, the underside of the asbestos corrugated sheets were visible, and asbestos dust would fall from the joints and screw holes. Deteriorating asbestos lagging, in addition to the falling dust, left the lockers and toilet facilities dusty. Opening and closing the lockers stirred up the dust, with Steve’s regular routine requiring him to be in and around the locker room several times a day, every day. Symptoms of asbestos exposure start to develop In March 2020 Steve began to experience a lingering cough. Night sweats became a regular occurrence and unexplainable weight loss followed. By September 2020 Steve had lost a stone, with his persistent cough showing no signs of improvement. He contacted his GP, who arranged blood tests and additional scans. In November 2020 Steve attended King’s College and was informed that the scans performed showed a mass which they thought was in his left intestine. Surgery to remove the mass took place in January 2021, with a biopsy taking some months to process. Steve was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, caused by asbestos exposure, in March 2021 and was subsequently referred to Guy’s Oncology Centre where he remains under regular review. Claims process and finding the right legal support Steve’s road to compensation got off to a rocky start, with his initial representation being unable to assist with his claim. Following this, Steve contacted Melloney and her team in September 2021. Melloney worked closely with a barrister to determine prospects of success. A supportive preliminary opinion from an engineer, and a detailed statement from Steve, meant that the MET Police could be notified of the claim quickly. Unfortunately for Steve, complexities arose during the claim process. The exposure was not typical, and the MET Police’s solicitors took time investigating the claim. Steve and Melloney remained patient and continued to work at building the claim. After receiving a supportive medical report from a consultant physician, liability was finally admitted and an interim payment of £50,000 was made to Steve. However, progress was hampered by unresponsive solicitors on the other side, and court proceedings were commenced to progress matters. The court proceedings though became protracted as the MET Police’s solicitors were relatively unresponsive. At a court hearing, they sought permission to obtain various expert evidence, which they then did not obtain, thereby delaying the final hearing unnecessarily. Furthermore, they indicated that they wanted to obtain their own medical report but did not serve such report. 14.5 months later, they informed Melloney that they were instructing a medical expert. Melloney objected on the basis that they had ample opportunity to obtain such evidence, but they were given the Court’s permission as the case was quite valuable and they were disadvantaged without their own medical expert opinion. However, their medical expert in his report then suggested that Steve could be considered essentially “cured” of his mesothelioma, there having been no evidence of recurrent disease on scans since the surgery in 2021. Had Steve been cured, this would have massively impacted the value of the claim and the basis for settlement. Of course, there is no known cure for mesothelioma. Thankfully, less than 2 weeks before the Assessment of Damages to determine the value of Steve’s claim a settlement was negotiated, which included a provision for the funding of future private treatment. Unfortunately, Steve’s mesothelioma did return a few months following the settlement. As a result of the settlement terms, Steve now has the peace of mind of knowing that he has private treatment options available to him as he fights the disease once more. Steve said: “We are so relieved that this has come to a conclusion and I am beyond amazed at what you and your team have achieved for us. My only concern would be running out of superlatives for you personally and your work. Thank you again for all that you have done.” *All names have been anonymised 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 asbestos@boyesturner.com or by telephone on 0118 952 7199.