At an NLCFN conference 3 or 4 years ago, a solicitor speaker was asked whether it was worth women with mesothelioma making a claim.  The obvious answer to that is ‘yes, of course,’ but the questioner had highlighted a perceived problem for women who have mesothelioma and want to claim compensation. 

 

We are likely to see more women with mesothelioma over the next decade.  According to the 2008 HSE study, the number of annual deaths amongst women has increased more rapidly than the increase amongst men over the last 10 years. Although increasing, the number of women with mesothelioma is not yet 20% of the total number in the UK. 

 

How do women with mesothelioma fare under the litigation process compared with men?  Many of the women that I see with mesothelioma come from a group of women who have had slight or intermittent exposure.  Some examples of those who have had slight or intermittent exposure are those who work in offices or factories where asbestos has been used or in buildings where asbestos had been part of the construction or makeup of the building. For example I have seen nurses, teachers, office workers, caterers and process workers.  Some are unaware initially as to where they have had exposure.

 

The UK Benefits System favours those who recollect exposure to asbestos dust during their work.  Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is only there for those who have had exposure during work.  This is a payment of £150.30 per week which can mount up to a substantial sum. 

 

Under the civil system of litigation, it is often more difficult for women to claim successfully.  I think that this is partly because men have multiple sources of exposure to asbestos. I have seen situations where siblings have developed asbestos disease having had exposure to asbestos dust from their father’s clothing in the 1950’s.  The boys have been able to claim compensation from their employers because they have gone to work in industries where they have had further asbestos exposure whereas the girls have not been able to claim because there is no legal liability for family members if the exposure took place in the 1950’s.

 

In terms of evidence of exposure, men are more likely to have handled asbestos directly themselves and are more likely to recall exposure to it. 

 

A French study which was published last year in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that the incidence of mesothelioma without any identified asbestos exposure (IAE) is usually higher among women, while male incidence is mainly attributed to IAE.  The study concluded that mesothelioma mortality incidence showed that female cases occur in the same geographical areas as male cases suggesting asbestos has a major influence on female mesothelioma, most likely through environmental exposure. It makes it more unfair that women have a harder struggle to claim.

 

A decision from the Supreme Court in March gives some hope to women. The case concerned 2 women who had been exposed to asbestos dust. One lady had worked in a factory and another was a school pupil whom I represented. Both had had comparatively light exposure to asbestos. Despite this, both succeeded.

 

So, it is possible through persistence to be able to claim compensation for women who have very little recollection of asbestos exposure through obtaining witness evidence and documentation to support the claim.

  

This article was written by Ruth Davies, Partner at John Pickering and Partners Solicitors in Halifax, Manchester and Liverpool. 

 

 

About John Pickering and Partners LLP

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors

 

We are a dedicated personal injury law firm who do not do other types of work.  We specialise in claiming damages for asbestos sufferers. We have been handling compensation claims for industrial disease for over 30 years. Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims who suffer from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers. We have an ethical approach and donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers.  We have set up a charitable trust to help to fund medical research into mesothelioma and various organisations that help and support asbestos sufferers and their families.

 

Find out more about our donations to good causes. We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law. Find out more about us or  our reported cases. We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Find out more about what others have said about us.

 

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the landmark Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

 

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life." Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

 

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs. It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

 

More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015. 

 

The first Action Mesothelioma Day was launched on 27th February 2006.  Its objectives were to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people who may be exposed to asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

 

Contact us to find out more about your entitlement to claim compensation if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or pleural thickening.

 

For more information about asbestos diseases-

www.johnpickering.co.uk

 

For practical information and support concerning mesothelioma-

www.mesothelioma-advice.co.uk

 

For more information about claiming for different types of asbestos disease-

Mesothelioma compensation claims

Lung cancer compensation claims

Asbestosis compensation claims

Pleural thickening compensation claims

 

For more an explanation about different types of asbestos conditions-

Different asbestos conditions