An industrial disease specialist at Irwin Mitchell successfully completed a claim in the sum of £195,000, for the family of a 72 year old grandfather who sadly passed away on Christmas Eve in 2010. Mr C was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2009; a year after symptoms of the disease began. He developed mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos during his working life.

How Was Mr C Exposed To Asbestos?
The Company liable for this tragedy was Courtaulds Plc (now known as AkzoNobel UK Limited). Mr C worked for this Company between 1956 – 1959 as a pipe lagger and a boiler coverer. During his time working for Courtaulds Plc, Mr C was exposed to asbestos on a daily basis when he was required to mix asbestos lagging paste. When mixing the paste, clouds of asbestos dust were released into the atmosphere which Mr C could not avoid inhaling. Mr C then applied the asbestos lagging paste to pipes and boilers using a trowel or by hand.

Insulating the boilers took hours to complete and sometimes days. His hands, clothes and face were covered in asbestos paste. Mr C was also required to strip old asbestos lagging off boilers and this again released asbestos dust and debris into the atmosphere in which he worked. Mr C was not provided with any protective respiratory equipment to prevent him from inhaling the asbestos dust.
 
How Has Mr C Been Affected?
After he received his formal diagnosis, Mr C’s health deteriorated and he continued to suffer with breathlessness, chest infections, chest pain and restricted mobility.  He sadly died on 24th December 2010 while residing at Compton Hospice and unfortunately, he was unable to see the conclusion of his case.
 
Sometime after being diagnosed, Mr C instructed solicitors at Irwin Mitchell to act on his behalf in bringing a negligence claim against AkzoNobel UK Limited (formerly Courtaulds Plc). Mr C sadly died within a short period of instructing the firm. The specialists at Irwin Mitchell gathered further evidence and obtained witness evidence which confirmed the presence of asbestos in the working environment.
 
Hayley Hill, Associate and workplace injury specialist at our Birmingham office, acted for Mr C and subsequently his wife and family and said:

“This was a potentially difficult claim due to the very early dates that Mr C experienced his exposure during his employment. The extensive investigations carried out on behalf of Mr C and his family resulted in sufficient evidence to secure an admission from his former employer that Mr C had been negligently exposed to asbestos during his employment. 

"As no offers of settlement were forthcoming quickly, we commenced proceedings at Court to progress the claim on behalf of Mr C’s wife and family, which led to an offer of settlement being received and the claim being concluded in favour of Mr C’s wife. 

Although the compensation paid by his former employer will not bring back their loved one, we were extremely pleased to be able to successfully conclude the claim and to provide some security for the wife and family of Mr C ,which had been his hope in commencing the claim.”

If you or a loved one has been affected by an asbestos related illness, our solicitors can help you to claim compensation. See our Asbestos Claims page for more information.

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