Compensation for family of former school teacher who died from mesothelioma

Mrs Willis worked as a teacher at several schools throughout her working life. Between 1970 and 1981, she worked as a teacher at Kingsmoor Infant School in Harlow. She then moved to Kingsmoor Junior School where she taught for two years before taking early retirement. The schools were based on Ployters Road in Harlow.

Mrs Willis recalled a three-week period whilst she was teaching at Kingsmoor Junior School during which time there were repair works taking place in a classroom adjacent to the one in which she taught. Mrs Willis believed that asbestos ceiling tiles were being removed and replaced following a leak in the classroom roof and that she was therefore exposed to asbestos dust as it sifted out into the surrounding rooms and corridors.

Mrs Willis also recalled working in a prefabricated hut in the infant school and how she stapled pupils’ work and fixed coat hooks to the walls of the hut. She believed that she may have been exposed to asbestos dust in the likely event that the prefabricated building was made from asbestos-containing materials.

Mrs Willis was never warned about the dangers of asbestos throughout her employment at Kingsmoor Infant and Junior School, which later became Kingsmoor Academy.

Mrs Willis’ symptoms began with a cough and wheezing some 18 months before she sadly died from mesothelioma at the age of 90 years. When she originally went to see her GP, it was suspected that she had a chest infection and was treated with antibiotics. She later had a chest x-ray, CT scan and a biopsy, which confirmed a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Mrs Willis had an indwelling pleural catheter fitted, which drained excess fluid from her lungs for several months and offered her some relief from her worsening breathlessness. Given her age, Mrs Willis was not considered suitable for treatment and received palliative care.

Shortly after her diagnosis with mesothelioma, Mrs Willis sought legal advice from a firm with experience in asbestos disease claims. The firm took a witness statement from her detailing the circumstances of her asbestos exposure as a teacher at Kingsmoor Infant and Junior School, although the statement was never signed. The firm also contacted a few of her former work colleagues to corroborate her witness evidence and sought disclosure from Essex County Council under whose authority the school came. Following these initial enquiries, the firm turned down Mrs Willis’ claim citing a lack of asbestos exposure evidence. Mrs Willis sought opinions from two other firms with similar experience in asbestos disease claims, but both were unwilling to investigate further.

Almost 18 months after Mrs Willis’ claim was turned down by the first firm of solicitors and almost a year after she sadly passed away, our specialist asbestos disease team were instructed by Mrs Willis’ son to assess the claim.

Senior Associate Laura Wilkinson took further investigatory steps, which included making another Freedom of Information Act request to Essex County Council and another to the trust with current control of Kingsmoor Academy. The limited documents available (all post-dating 1998) confirmed the presence of asbestos-containing materials around the Kingsmoor Infant and Junior School site.

Laura also contacted several former colleagues of Mrs Willis and obtained a witness statement from one former teacher who had been previously contacted by the original investigating solicitors. The witness had worked in a classroom next to Mrs Willis and could recall the ceiling replacement works in the classroom adjacent to hers. She too believed that the ceiling tiles being removed were made from asbestos and that asbestos dust was created through the work to which Mrs Willis was exposed.

Laura contacted the original investigating solicitor and asked him to sign a witness statement exhibiting the unsigned witness statement of Mrs Willis, which he prepared after visiting Mrs Willis. She also attempted to contact the building and maintenance firm that – according to the former teacher who provided witness evidence – carried out the ceiling replacement works to see whether they had any documentation to confirm whether the original ceiling tiles were made from asbestos. Unfortunately, the firm was no longer trading, and the former directors could not assist.

A Letter of Claim was sent to Essex County Council and, with the third anniversary of Mrs Willis’ death fast approaching, a limitation amnesty of six months was agreed to avoid the cost of issuing court proceedings whilst investigations continued, and further evidence was gathered.

A medical report was obtained from a Respiratory Consultant. It was supportive in attributing Mrs Willis’ mesothelioma to her alleged asbestos exposure at the school. The medical report was served on the defendant together with all exposure witness evidence and Laura pushed for a liability admission.

Laura then focussed on valuing the claim and compiling witness and documentary evidence in support. This was served on the defendant with a settlement offer. Unfortunately, the offer was met with a denial of liability.

Although there were difficult issues regarding liability, Laura strongly felt the claim could succeed and so took the step of issuing and serving Court proceedings on the defendant. Evidence from a forensic engineer was obtained, which flagged up a few areas of weakness on both sides.

Laura made another settlement offer to the defendant, which at this stage was met by a counter-offer. During this intervening period, an initial Court hearing was due to take place but this was vacated due to a Court timetable for the exchange of further evidence having been agreed with the defendant. Laura took Mr Willis’ instructions on the defendant’s offer and it was accepted.

Laura commented:

“This was a claim that was far from straightforward, as most claims based on asbestos exposure in a school setting are. It took time to build a case by seeking evidence from different sources. Ultimately, there was enough there to provoke a settlement offer from the defendant. I am so pleased that the family persevered and approached our specialist team for a further opinion when they could so easily have lost hope and given up their fight for justice.”