Receiving a life-changing diagnosis, when you are someone others depend on, can be unimaginably painful. Charlie’s life changed after being diagnosed with an asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma, in September 2024. Charlie* lives with his wife, one of their sons and Charlie’s grandchildren – the family all relied upon Charlie for practical and financial support. After finding out about his diagnosis, Charlie began getting support from HASAG, an asbestos support charity, who referred him to Melloney and her team. The diagnosis In the lead up to his diagnosis, Charlie suffered with shortness of breath, which was on-going for around two weeks. He decided to have this investigated at his GP who referred him to see a lung specialist at the hospital. The lung specialist carried out scans, which showed that Charlie had some fluid on his lung. Next, the fluid was drained from his lung, and a biopsy was taken. Unfortunately, shortly after, Charlie found out that the biopsy had confirmed that he was suffering from mesothelioma. The asbestos exposure From the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, Charlie worked for three different companies, which all operated under the same entrepreneur lead – this meant that even when his employer changed on paper, he was still fulfilling the same role. Within his role, Charlie machined parts for medical beds for burns units as well as equipment used for fluid flow experiments. Charlie was required to work on injection moulding machinery which was manufactured by the company. The injection moulding machinery contained an asbestos component for insulation purposes – the material used to make the component was Sindanyo which is known to have contained asbestos during this period. The component sat between the heating element to stop the transfer of heat from the element to the rest of the machine. Part of Charlie’s role was to make this component for the machine. To do this, the component had to be cut to size from asbestos sheet and drilled. The machine he cut it on had no extraction mechanism, which meant that Charlie was regularly exposed to the dust as he cut and drilled holes in the asbestos sheets. In addition, Charlie would have to clean the machinery and sweep up the dust produced by the process. He was not provided with protective equipment by his employer, and he often found his work clothes to be covered in dust. The claim process Due to the progressive nature of mesothelioma, Melloney was conscious to act promptly. Melloney visited Charlie at his home and gathered the information necessary to secure a statement from him. This is one of the most important parts of a legal claim – capturing evidence from the mesothelioma sufferer as to how they were exposed to asbestos. She set about researching the former employer entity and, after locating the relevant insurers, Melloney sent the Letter of Claim to the former employer’s insurers. The insurers quickly admitted liability and paid an interim payment of damages to Charlie. Melloney gathered medical evidence to support the claim and details of Charlie’s financial losses to enable her to negotiation a settlement. A six-figure settlement was agreed to conclude the claim, with provision for Charlie to have any necessary private treatment funded by the former employer’s insurers in the future. This settlement gives Charlie and his family financial security and peace of mind going forward. Charlie commented “Melloney was most helpful and friendly on our first meeting, she was also sensitive to our situation as well as being professional, she explained each step of process for my claim and laid out the options as we went. We were kept informed as the claim proceeded and we are very happy with the conclusion, thank you to Melloney and her team.” *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.
