Mesothelioma settlement secured for Llandudno Junior School Cleaner exposed to asbestos.
Jennifer Seavor, expert mesothelioma solicitor, was instructed by Mrs C after her diagnosis of mesothelioma. Mrs C used to work as a cleaner in a Llandudno junior school from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.
Many schools, built before 2000, still contain some form of asbestos. It is present as thermal insulation on pipes and boilers, in insulation boards used for fire protection and floor / ceiling tiles.
Sealed and undamaged asbestos materials will not release asbestos fibres into the atmosphere, but if disturbed, asbestos fibres can be released and breathed in by the building occupants. This is more likely to happen as asbestos materials age and deteriorate.
The activities most likely to lead to the disturbance of asbestos materials in schools and colleges are building and maintenance work. However, depending on their location, asbestos materials could also be disturbed through the everyday activities in a typical school environment.
One of the duties of Mrs C, as a school cleaner, was to sweep the boiler rooms, including the pipes. The pipes were old and in a poor state of repair, meaning she was sweeping dust that contained asbestos fibres.
During her time there, a second school was built and Mrs C had to clean up after the builders and tradesmen. The school ceilings were made of a type of asbestos tile, which over time would come lose and fall to the ground. Mrs C had to stick the tiles back up, which meant handling the rough and broken edges of the asbestos tiles and breathing in toxic asbestos dust as a consequence.
Biopsy confirmed mesothelioma
In 2019, Mrs C developed a painful chesty cough and was referred to hospital for tests and scans. The results of which led to a biopsy which unfortunately confirmed the devastating news of a mesothelioma diagnosis.
Mrs C contacted our team of mesothelioma solicitors a couple of months later and Jennifer Seavor visited her at her home to talk through bringing a claim for mesothelioma. We took a statement regarding her work history, with specific reference to asbestos exposure at the school, and obtained evidence from medical experts to prove the link between her asbestos exposure and the diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer.
COVID-19 had a bearing on our progress with this claim as a lockdown was in place and lines of communication with the defendants was erratic. There were delays in the response to emails and phone calls. However, in this case it was important to conclude the claim while Mrs C was still alive; she had lost her husband some years ago and her grown up children were no longer dependants. This meant that she needed to conclude the claim during her lifetime to recover her pension loss.
Unfortunately, Mrs C’s condition deteriorated and she was admitted to a local hospice. An offer was made to the insurers of the local council to settle the claim. The defendant made a counter offer, which Mrs C decided to accept, and the defendant also agreed to cover the costs incurred at the hospice.
The claim settled within five months of Mrs C instructing our expert mesothelioma solicitors. Sadly, Mrs C passed away a few days after settlement was reached, but with some comfort from the knowledge that the claim had settled, and the Council had admitted liability for failing to protect her from the perils of asbestos exposure.
Contact our specialist asbestos and mesothelioma solicitors to find out more about whether you can make a claim for compensation.
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