asbestos
claims
Asbestos
solicitors in the UK
bring about 2000 mesothelioma claims a year, mainly based on negligent asbestos
exposure in various occupations such as factory work, construction work and plumbing.
Between the 1950s and the 1980s asbestos was used extensively as a building
material, especially for insulation and as a fire-retardant. The more dangerous
varieties of blue and brown asbestos were banned in 1985, but
asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), such as asbestos cement, continued to be
used until 1999. Asbestos was often mixed with other materials, which now makes
it difficult to identify. It is estimated that more than half a million
non-domestic premises now have some asbestos.asbestos claims
At
least 3,500 people in Great Britain die from mesothelioma and asbestos-related
lung cancer each year, with annual numbers predicted to continue rising at
least for the next ten years, reaching closer to 10,000 by 2010. Asbestos
solicitors are usually first instructed following a diagnosis of cancer cells
in a drained pleural effusion, or when a growth is noticed on a lung x-ray or
CT scan. Most mesothelioma sufferers are only exposed through their work. A
full statement is taken from the client, dealing not only with working
conditions at the suspected negligent ex-employer but with all ex-employers, to
determine where the asbestos exposure took place and to confirm the unsafe
system of work. Statements are obtained from fellow
ex-employees.asbestos
claims
To
identify exact periods of employment an employment history is obtained from
HMRC. If the client has been exposed at any ex-employer they are fully liable
whether or not any other ex-employer is also liable. asbestos claims
It is
not necessary to determine which ex-employer's negligent exposure caused the
mesothelioma.In Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services & Ors [2003] 1 AC 32, employees had
developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos dust while at work, but there
was uncertainty as to which of several employers was responsible for the
exposure which had caused the disease. The Court of Appeal had held that for
this reason causation could not be proved. However, the Lords held that, where
there had been exposure by different employers but the precise causative point
could not be identified, it was sufficient to find that the wrongdoing of each
employer had materially increased the risk of contracting the disease.asbestos
claims
The
medical records are obtained and a report from a Consultant Chest Physician on
causation and, after an examination,on condition and prognosis is obtained. A
letter of claim is written to the ex-employer or their insurers. If liability
is in dispute it will be necessary to instruct Consulting Engineers to report on
the unsafe working conditions. asbestos claims
Since
mesothelioma sufferers tend to die within six to eighteen months following
diagnosis, these claims can be expedited in the courts and/or an interim
payment of damages can be obtained before the case is settled and the
proceedings are then continued by the personal representatives.asbestos claims
Asbestos
lawyers bring a claim for a client's severe pain and impairment of both
function and quality of life and will usually obtain compensation for the client
of between 45k -80k for this alone. His or her mesothelioma may be of the
pleura (the lung lining) or of the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity);
the latter being typically more painful. The duration of pain and suffering
accounts for variations within the bracket. For periods of up to 18 months,
awards in the bottom half of the bracket may be appropriate; for longer periods
of four years or more, an award at the top end.asbestos claims
This
award will only be for the client's pain and suffering, and other awards are
made to compensate for the resulting financial losses both before and after the
client's death. Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 a bereavement payment
for a spouse of 11,800 is awarded. The loss to his or her dependents of the earnings
the deceased would have earned or the services he/she would have provided in
the future, such as DIY or housework, can also form part of the asbestos
compensation claim by way of a "dependency" award. Under the Law
Reform Act your asbestos solicitors can also obtain damages for funeral costs
and the cost of care and/or the deceased's lost earnings prior to
death.asbestos claims
If
mesothelioma hasn't actually developed yet but there is a significant risk that
it will, and there is also a symptomatic condition such as pleural thickening
causing breathlessness, then on top of an award damages for the client's pain
and suffering with pleural thickening, which is in a bracket between £23k-46k,
the asbestos solicitor will obtain an award of provisional damages for
mesothelioma,which allows the claimant to return to court for more compensation
if the condition does develop. asbestos claims
In
contrast in 2007, the law lords upheld a Court of Appeal decision that the
existence of asbestos-related pleural plaques, a scarring of the lungs, does
not constitute actionable or compensatable damage.This also applies to pleural
thickening without any associated breathlessness.asbestos claims
A
distinct problem from establishing liability is enforcing any judgment. asbestos
claims
In
October 2001 the Court of Appeal,overturning a 2008 High Court ruling on
mesothelioma, decided that in some cases, employers' liability insurance is
triggered not by exposure to asbestos, but by the onset of symptoms.
Unfortunately this will leave some victims with no access to compensation
because their employer may not have an effective insurance policy to meet the
claim, and policy wordings may exclude previously eligible claimants.asbestos
claims
This
decision means some insurers are required to pay while others are not,
depending on words such as "injury sustained" or "disease
contracted" used in insurance contracts written decades ago.asbestos
claims
David
Dickie (d.dickie@timms-law.com) is a member of the Law Society's Personal Injury
Panel and is a solicitor with Timms Solicitors, asbestos claims Derby, UK.
Read
more about mesothelioma claims at
http://www.timms-law.com/asbestos-solicitors----mesothelioma-compensation-claims.aspx
and at http://www.timms-law.com/mesothelioma-claim.aspx
asbestos
claims