Irwin Mitchell Increases Its Asbestos Expertise With Two New Experienced Specialists

Irwin Mitchell has expanded its successful asbestos team in Manchester with the appointment of two new senior solicitors.

Helen Tomlin joins as a senior associate and Victoria Cadman as a new associate on the asbestos team, both with decades of experience in asbestos-related cases.

Helen joins from Thompsons Solicitors, where she has specialised for the last 17 years in asbestos-related disease cases, becoming part of the leadership team for the Yorkshire region.

Nationally, Helen also worked with the charity Mesothelioma UK, trades unions and members of the Forum of Asbestos Victims Support Groups, to ensure that asbestos sufferers and their families receive the highest quality of advice and assistance following their diagnosis with an asbestos related disease.

Helen was inspired to pursue a career helping those living with asbestos related disease, after meeting asbestos disease sufferers in Liverpool during her training.

Through her 17 years of specialist work, Helen has achieved hundreds of settlements for clients and their families, securing hundreds of thousands of pounds’ of compensation to benefit those who have been diagnosed with diseases such as mesothelioma.

Helen has also played an active role in various regional support groups, and has carried out fund raising and awareness activities to raise the profile of mesothelioma, and the dangers of asbestos that are still present today.

Victoria was an associate in the industrial disease team at Birchall Blackburn Law and after qualifying in 2005, has enjoyed a career spanning over 19 years, with the last 10 specialising in asbestos-related disease claims. Victoria has worked on complex claims securing not only financial compensation for clients, but also assistance with the costs of care needs and private medical treatment.

Expert Opinion

“We’re delighted to welcome Helen and Victoria to the team. We are all very aware that asbestos claims require expertise and in-depth knowledge from specialist solicitors, and to have two new solicitors joining our team is wonderful.

“Both Helen and Victoria are known for their sensitivity and compassion in helping people, who can be in the most difficult circumstances. Between them, they will help us to continue to provide exceptional service to asbestos sufferers and their families across our region.” Geraldine Coombs - Partner

Commenting on joining Irwin Mitchell, Helen Tomlin said: “I’m very excited to be joining Irwin Mitchell. I love the work that I do, helping asbestos sufferers to investigate their work histories and securing settlements that mean people no longer have to worry about the financial burden of ill-health.

“Often, the settlements also include additional items, such as securing agreements from insurers to pay for medical treatments not offered on the NHS, or claiming back the costs of hospice care.

“The nationwide team have been so welcoming, and I am looking forward to working with new people, expanding my knowledge and contributing in a positive way to the expertise already in the North West region.”

Commenting on her new role at Irwin Mitchell, Victoria Cadman said: “I am immensely pleased to have joined the Manchester team, where it is clear they place huge emphasis on providing a high quality, supportive, service for clients.

“As a solicitor committed to asbestos-related disease work, it is so exciting to work alongside solicitors who have not only shaped the law in this area, but continue to look for ways to do so.”

Helen and Victoria are joining the largest team of asbestos lawyers in the country, who have consistently secured landmark victories for their clients, leading to significant changes in the law.

These successes include a recent case in the Court of Appeal, which determined that a widow could claim for loss of financial support from her late husband’s business earnings, following his premature death from mesothelioma

This year, to date, the North West team have also secured over £90,000 from insurers, to reimburse local hospices for the costs of looking after patients with mesothelioma.