Irwin Mitchell has successfully helped a man to claim compensation after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma following exposure to deadly asbestos dust, after working for less that 18 months in a number of power stations, during a temporary career change.  

Background

Our client only intended to work at these power stations for a short period of time, before he went on to spend the remainder of his 30 years of employment working in sales. This short period of employment unfortunately led to him being exposed to deadly asbestos dust and fibres after working at a number of power stations, including Ironbridge Power Station B, situated on the banks of the River Severn in Shropshire and Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station near Nottingham.

The man worked for long hours, either lagging pipe work and steam boilers with asbestos insulation or stripping existing boilers and pipe work with a claw hammer and reapplying fresh asbestos lagging.

The dust from his work was often so choking, that he would need to tie a handkerchief over his mouth. He was never warned of the dangers of working with asbestos and neither was he provided with any form of respiratory protective equipment.

The man retired in 1999 and feared for many years that his one period of exposure to asbestos would be lethal, having previously lost his father to an asbestos related illness.

Asbestos Exposure Leads To Mesothelioma

He went to see his GP after experiencing a persistent cough and finding himself short of breath. Over the next few months, he underwent a series of investigations. Unfortunately for our client, biopsy results confirmed that he was suffering from mesothelioma. He instructed Irwin Mitchell to pursue a legal claim against the company who exposed him to asbestos.

Mesothelioma has a very poor prognosis and short life expectancy. The initial concern was to secure a significant Government compensation award and benefits to help our client with immediate expenses. He was widowed, which meant that it was important to secure financial compensation during his lifetime, otherwise the value of the compensation would drop significantly after death.

Early Payments Secured 

We took immediate steps to notify the opponent of the claim and worked quickly to gather all supporting evidence by which to prove the claim. Negligence and breach of statutory duty was admitted on behalf of the opponent and a successful conclusion to the claim was achieved within six months of receiving initial instructions.

Satinder Bains, a specialist in mesothelioma from Irwin Mitchell, acted for the man and commented: "There are many tiers to pursuing a claim for asbestos exposure, including appreciating the personal circumstances of your client and acting in their best interests at all times.

"I was aware that given his short life expectancy and the fact he had no living dependents, meant I needed to bring his claim to a successful conclusion during his lifetime. It was equally important that I worked closely with him and his family to ensure that he had full access to the benefits and services, including specialist support from lung cancer nurses that would improve his quality of life as much as possible."

Satinder also said: "He was in this position through no fault of his own. He never intended to work in the power stations and only did so because it was convenient at that point in his life.

"It is so sad that one period of short employment should prove to be so fatal and cut his life short. He was given no warning about working with asbestos, there were no precautions taken, he had no mask, there was no dust extraction or damping down." 

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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