We were instructed by Mr Holliss following his diagnosis of mesothelioma. Mr Holliss is an ex-pat, now living in Spain. I visited Mr Holliss at his home to take a detailed witness statement from him regarding the circumstances of his exposure to asbestos dust. Mr Holliss described exposure to asbestos dust whilst working for James Martin (Contractor) Limited between 1967/68 to 1970/71 and then again between 1977/78 and 1978/79. He also described exposure to asbestos dust when working at the National Cash Register Company Limited at 1000 North Circular Road, Hendon, between 1971/72 to 1973/74. Mr Holliss was further exposed to asbestos dust whilst employed by L.H. Contractors Limited between 1978/79 and 1980/81 and with London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham between 1995 to 2004. Asbestos dustWhilst working for James Martin (Contractor) Limited, Mr Holliss was employed as a fitter’s mate assisting the fitter. He was exposed to asbestos dust throughout his employment and had heavy exposure when fitting gas fires and water heaters. He would cut asbestos sheets for backing boards and cut asbestos flues. James Martin (Contractor) Limited’s insurers admitted negligently exposing Mr Holliss to asbestos dust.Whilst working for L.H. Contractors Limited, Mr Holliss was employed as a fitter. He had similar exposure to asbestos dust as with James Martin (Contractor) Limited and again described his exposure to asbestos dust as heavy. The insurers for L.H. Contractors Limited admitted negligently exposing Mr Holliss to asbestos dust.On the basis that James Martin (Contractor) Limited and L.H. Contractors Limited both admitted breach of duty, these were the only defendants we continued to pursue, to ensure swift settlement of Mr Holliss’ claim. Under the Compensation Act 2006, we did not need to pursue all those employers who exposed Mr Holliss to asbestos dust in order to recover all of his compensation for his mesothelioma.Medical evidenceMedical evidence was obtained from an asbestos expert on Mr Holliss’ exposure to asbestos and his diagnosis of mesothelioma. The medical expert confirmed that Mr Holliss’ exposure to asbestos dust with London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham was unlikely to have caused his malignant mesothelioma, due to the short period of time between his exposure to asbestos dust and the manifestation of his symptoms.Mesothelioma claimFollowing his diagnosis of mesothelioma, Mr Holliss underwent two lots of chemotherapy and is continuing to battle the disease.Unfortunately, due to his mesothelioma, Mr Holliss was unable to continue to undertake the painting, decorating, house maintenance and gardening which he did before. Mr Holliss lives in Spain and has been renovating and maintaining his property there. He also owns a number of rescue dogs and due to his condition has required greater assistance with the management of his home from his partner.Mesothelioma settlementI was pleased to reach a settlement agreement of £175,000 with the defendants in Mr Holliss’ case. We achieved settlement of his claim within 10 months of his instructions.
