In August 2009 we were contacted by Mr G following his diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. He had been exposed to asbestos dust during his employment with Associated Octel in Ellesmere Port.  Peritoneal mesothelioma is a tumour in the sheet of tissues covering the organs of the abdomen.  It is much rarer than mesothelioma in the chest with only between 100 and 500 diagnoses being made each year. It is usually caused by asbestos exposure.

Mr G was employed as a chemist for Associated Octel between 1967 and 1977. He worked in laboratories and used asbestos mitts, matting and string on a daily basis. Later he was employed to take water samples from boiler houses that were crammed full of asbestos lagging. It was during this period of employment that he was exposed to large quantities of asbestos dust.

In the summer of 2008 Mr G first began to experience abdominal pain. Peritoneal mesothelioma is notoriously difficult to diagnose. When he initially consulted his GP he was treated for a presumed stomach ulcer and hiatus hernia.

Over the next few months Mr G’s symptoms increased. He began to suffer from bloating, a feeling of fullness, nausea, indigestion and drastic weight loss. In May 2009, after further consultations with his GP, he was referred to a specialist for tests. He travelled from his home on the Wirral to hospitals in Greater Manchester. He underwent numerous invasive and painful investigations. Eventually on 22 July 2009 he received the devastating diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. He was only 62 years old.

Before becoming ill Mr G was an active member of his local golf club, playing regularly. He has a large garden which he took pride in maintaining. He also helped his partner around the house with chores including cleaning and grocery shopping.

Mr G is aware of the aggressive nature of the cancer and of his limited life expectancy. He has had palliative chemotherapy in an attempt to shrink the tumour.

We pursued a claim for compensation against Innospec Limited, the current name of Associated Octel. The case was issued at a special court in London so that it would be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Mr G’s case was dealt with on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis so that Mr G and his family did not have to worry about the cost of bringing his claim.

We successfully negotiated an out of court settlement for Mr G within his lifetime. He received the six figure damages in their entirety.

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Contact details:

Telephone: 0161 834 1251                
E-mail: nf@johnpickering.co.uk       
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk               
FREEPHONE: 0808 1440957   

Notes

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors.

We are a specialist personal injury law firm.  We have been handling claims for industrial disease for over 30 years.  Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims. 

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 pledge to donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers. 

Click here to find out 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 find out about our reported cases.  We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Click here to 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 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).

According to the British Lung Foundation, 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 British Lung Foundation, supported by John Pickering and Partners LLP, launched the first Action Mesothelioma Day on 27th February 2006, 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 working with asbestos.

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