Serious Injury
Asbestos and Mesothelioma Cases
Our team has experience in landmark cases creating national legal precedent for both asbestosis (Court of Appeal) and pleural plaques (House of Lords).
We specialise in recovering compensation for the victims of asbestos disease.
Whether we represent you for an asbestos condition, or on behalf of a loved one who has sadly passed away as a result of asbestos, we will guide you through every step of the process.
Examples of asbestos conditions and how we can help…
Mesothelioma
A cancer usually found in the pleura (the lining of the lungs) almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma can be caused by very small exposures to asbestos. To recover compensation a claimant must establish the asbestos exposure materially increased the risk of developing mesothelioma.
We will gather the necessary evidence for you in the form of witness statements and medical evidence. The issue in these cases is the long latency period between exposure to asbestos and contraction of mesothelioma, sometimes lasting decades.
Speed is of the essence. Our expert solicitors will quickly obtain the necessary evidence to support your claim. Statements obtained late in life will preserve the family’s ability to make a dependency claim after death and are crucially important.
Even if a defendant company cannot be traced there are statutory payments available under the Pneumoconiosis Workers Compensation Act. This is now supplemented by a more generous Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme. This is effectively an insurer of last resort and helps those who cannot locate a defendant.
We recently obtained a significant payment under this scheme for a mesothelioma client who could only ever recall working for his father, cash in hand, at a scrap yard in the 1960’s for a short period.
Our solicitors will explain to you when this is appropriate and guide you through the process.
Asbestosis
This lung fibrosis is caused by exposure to asbestos. Unlike mesothelioma this occurs inside the lung. It reduces lung capacity and can cause breathlessness as a result. Our specialist solicitors will advise you on obtaining an expert medical report which will consider whether the exposures to asbestos caused the asbestosis. This is more complex than in a mesothelioma cases because larger exposures are required.
Generally, a claimant needs to prove one year of very heavy exposure (e.g. lagging asbestos pipes) or 5-10 years of moderate exposure (construction, ship building, etc). Witness evidence is key in these cases.
Asbestos-related Lung Cancer
To establish a diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer the claimant either needs to have been diagnosed with asbestosis, or needs to have been exposed to enough asbestos to satisfy the criteria above. Our expert solicitors can advise you in detail about the necessary steps.
Diffuse Pleural Thickening
The law no longer allows pursuit of claims for symptomless pleural thickening or pleural plaques following the Pleural Plaques Test Litigation 2007. Claimants can only win these cases if the pleural thickening is diffuse and widespread enough to cause breathlessness. It is important to consider provisional damages which will allow the claimant to return for more significant damages if he or she later develops a more serious asbestos condition. Our team will be happy to advise in more detail.
Pleural Plaques
These are small areas of scarring on the pleura. They do not cause any pain or breathlessness and the House of Lords concluded that claimants were no longer able to pursue claims. It is however, prudent to take statements from claimants with this diagnosis confirming their employment history and asbestos exposure and our specialist team will be happy to help.
If you are affected by any of the above please do not hesitate to contact Spencer Knaggs, who has over 20 years of experience in dealing with cases like these, on 01228 552230.
Funding your case
We’ll happily speak to you free of charge to determine whether we can help you. If you have a claim with a reasonable prospect of success, we will arrange a completely ‘No win no fee’ agreement and we will fully explain this to you.
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