Our client was diagnosed with mesothelioma in December 2006.  We were instructed to deal with his claim in March 2007.  We carried out urgent investigations to trace his former workmates, trace his former employers, obtain medical records and get supportive expert evidence.  We obtained a supportive medical report from a leading consultant chest physician and issued proceedings on an urgent basis using a specialist court system for mesothelioma sufferers.

We received an urgent timetable from the court including an urgent trial date.  A few weeks before the trial, the Defendant made an offer of compensation and following further negotiations, an agreement was reached.  Our client will receive compensation in his hand of £165,000.  He had already received a payment from the government of just over £18,000 and the Defendant had to pay benefits back to the government that he had received.  Therefore, his gross damages are just over £186,000. 

Our client was very pleased with the award.  His entire case took just under 6 months to conclude.

Our client was exposed to asbestos when he worked as a joiner and was involved cutting up and fixing asbestos sheets during building work, particularly on the construction of new houses around the Merseyside area.  Although he was 65 at the date when he became ill from mesothelioma, he planned to work until the age of 70.  Although the Defendant maintained in its Defence that this was not likely to have happened, the level of damages awarded does reflect compensation for his loss of future earnings.

Background
Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma. Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit. Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.

John Pickering and Partners LLP
John Pickering and Partners LLP is a specialist 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 the victims of asbestos.
If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

Further information:
Kevin Johnson, Partner
John Pickering and Partners LLP
19 Castle Street
Liverpool
L2 4SX

Telephone: 0151 227 1214

E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk