Six figure settlement for former North Thames Gas Board gas fitter with Biphasic Mesothelioma

Mr Wallis’ mesothelioma was discovered following a nasty fall, caused by lack of oxygen due to his breathlessness. He therefore underwent a chest CT scan which revealed a pleural effusion. As a result, biopsies were taken, and Mr Wallis was informed of his diagnosis of mesothelioma.

Following his diagnosis, Mr Wallis was treated with dual immunotherapy with Nivolumab and Ipilimumab on the NHS. He has responded well to the treatment.

Mr Wallis was exposed to asbestos whilst working for the North Thames Gas Board, firstly completing a five-year apprenticeship before qualifying as a gas fitter. He carried out gas and plumbing work in residential houses, old buildings, and factories, particularly the Cape Asbestos Factory.

In the old buildings and houses he worked in, Mr Wallis worked with asbestos in confined spaces without any ventilation. Mr Wallis did a lot of work on gas fires. The gas fires required a lot of work with asbestos, as asbestos sheeting had to be fitted behind the gas fires and holes had to be made in the sheeting to allow the fumes to be drawn up the chimney. Mr Wallis also did a lot of work on flue pipes, which involved cutting several round asbestos pipes to size.

Mr Wallis carried out a lot of work in the Cape Asbestos Factory, specifically doing repair work on the gas appliances. This involved repairing the boilers, which contained asbestos lagged pipes. There was no ventilation in the boiler room, so the asbestos dust circulated in the atmosphere and heavily exposed Mr Wallis to asbestos. Moreover, the factory’s atmosphere was thick with asbestos dust, so much so that Mr Wallis recalls being able to taste it.

RWK Goodman sent Letters of Claim to Cadent Gas, who are the successor company to North Thames Gas Board, and Cape Intermediate Holdings. We ensured we took the time to prepare a detailed witness statement dealing with the circumstances of Mr Wallis’ exposure. This was a complex early exposure case, since Mr Wallis was exposed to asbestos before 1965. However, we obtained a medical report confirming that Mr Wallis’ mesothelioma was caused by his asbestos exposure during his time working for the Defendants.

Rachel Hicks, an Associate in our expert Industrial Disease team, continually put pressure on the Defendant who initially refused to admit liability. The claim was successful and a six figure settlement was secured for Mr Wallis.