Compensation for family of former welder/pipe fitter who suffered with asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening

Terance was diagnosed with pleural plaques during his lifetime, but asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening were only confirmed following a post-mortem. He worked as a welder and pipe fitter for most of his working life during which time it was believed he had been exposed to asbestos dust.

Laura was only instructed by Michelle after Terance’s death. It was therefore not possible to take a witness statement from Terance to confirm exactly how his previous employment saw him encounter asbestos dust, including the companies that employed him and the sites that he was working on at the time of such exposure.

Laura started collating evidence by speaking to Terance’s brother, Gary, who had also worked as a welder/pipe fitter and who had worked on and off with Terance over many years. He was able to give an idea about how Terance came across asbestos dust through his work.

Having obtained corroborative witness evidence from Terance’s ex-wife/Michelle’s mother and Terance’s son/Michelle’s brother, Laura was able to build a picture of how Terance had suffered asbestos exposure. It transpired that he was exposed to it whilst working in boiler houses and air conditioning ducts across countless sites where he interfered with asbestos lagging, and whilst working in domestic properties, installing boilers and drilling through Artex walls and ceilings.

Having reviewed Terance’s employment history from HM Revenue & Customs, which listed all his employers from Tax Year 1961/62 onwards, Laura pursued a claim against the following companies, which were either still active or for which Employers’ Liability (“EL”) insurance could be traced:

• Brightside Heating & Engineering Co Limited (1961 – 1965/66 and early 1970s)
• Carrier Engineering Co Limited (1965/66 – 1967/68)
• Matthew Hall Limited (1967/68 – 1968/69)
• Drake & Scull Engineering Limited (1972 – 1973/74)
• Air Conditioning (London) Limited 1973/74 – 1975/76)
• Roger Lambert Heating Limited (1982/83 – 1985/86)

Medical evidence was obtained from a Consultant Respiratory Physician who connected Terance’s previous asbestos exposure to his asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening. Whilst the asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening were found not to have contributed to Terance’s death, the medical evidence confirmed that the conditions had caused Terance a respiratory disability of 10% (alongside a respiratory disability of 20% due to COPD and heart disease).

Having obtained evidence from Michelle about the care provided to Terance by her and other family members during the final few months of his life, Laura set about valuing the claim. She then made a settlement offer to the above companies/defendants on Michelle’s behalf. The offer was discounted on the basis that claims against other companies where Terance suffered asbestos exposure could not be made because they were no longer active and insurance could not be traced. The defendants responded with a counter-offer, which was only slightly less than the opening offer. Laura accepted the offer on Michelle’s behalf in the gross sum of £26,452.73.

Following settlement of the claim, Laura commented:

“I was so pleased to have secured some compensation for Michelle and her siblings. This was a complex claim given the number of potential defendants involved and the fact that many of them were no longer trading and so it was necessary to trace the insurers on risk at the time of the alleged asbestos exposure. There was the added difficulty of not being able to speak to Terance directly about the asbestos exposure that he suffered. Fortunately, his brother was able to assist before he too sadly died from lung cancer. Michelle was desperate to achieve some justice for her dad and we did just that.”