Charlie* instructed us to investigate a claim for compensation after his diagnosis of epithelioid mesothelioma. He worked at a joinery company as an apprentice joiner between 1960 and 1965 and encountered asbestos because of his work. We secured an admission of liability within three months of instructions and a £50,000 interim payment to provide immediate benefit to Charlie, a widower who sadly lost his wife Carol to pancreatic cancer in February 2020. We overcame evidential difficulties arising from Charlie’s limited recollections, which were only consistent with low level exposure to asbestos dust during his employment. His employment was between 1960 and 1965 when the knowledge of the dangers of asbestos was not as high. We traced a witness who had been an apprentice joiner at the same company at the same time as Charlie, who described much heavier exposure to asbestos dust from asbestos insulation boards. The witness had successfully given evidence in another mesothelioma claim (handled elsewhere) and gave us a further statement. We disclosed the evidence and secured an admission of liability within three months of instructions and a £50,000 interim payment to provide immediate benefit to Charlie. An initial offer to settle from the Defendant was rejected as too low, and because it did not provide for agreement for future private mesothelioma treatment costs. We secured a settlement of over £200,000, with provision for future private mesothelioma treatment costs, so that Charlie could enjoy the benefit of a lifetime settlement with the comfort of knowing that any future private treatment he pursued due to his mesothelioma would be funded by the Defendant. *Anonymised for client confidentiality 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.
