I’m a widow of a mesothelioma sufferer, what can I do?
We recently helped a widow
successfully make a claim for mesothelioma caused by her husband's former employer.
Brief exposure to asbestos
We were approached by a widower of an accountant about investigating a possible mesothelioma claim. She told us how her husband had a 'stopgap' job not long after graduating, which involved
breaking apart ships with a sledgehammer. He did this job in the 70’s for around 6 months.
Starting from scratch
All we knew about the possible exposure to asbestos was the
location of where he worked around 40 years ago. We had to do some detective work to find out about his former employer and get some evidence.
We managed to trace the history of the company and who now owns it, as well as their insurance company. We brought a claim in the high court against the new owner
Joseph Gilliott & Sons.
Building the case and putting things right
We built up a picture of his work and his exposure to asbestos
through talking to the family members and what he had told them. We also obtained
expert engineer evidence dealing with work and materials used in the ship scrap yard in Newport.
We conducted a
thorough medical investigation with the help of several experts. They worked with the family, and determined that the accountant's daughter had been particularly affected by her father's diagnosis, even before he sadly passed away. She
suffered from panic attacks and also became more withdrawn.
The result was an
excellent settlement of £800,000. This included compensation for the
psychological injuries caused by his death.
At Simpson Millar LLP, we set out to offer a complete service to the family. We provided assistance to deal with the will, as well as providing financial advice. We did this to increase the value of the compensation. We
made sure it was is invested properly and set up a trust fund. Our professionals work together seamlessly to act in your best interests.
Top tips to take home
- If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, discuss your/their work history , seek legal advice as soon as you can following diagnosis
- If you’ve lost a loved one to mesothelioma, it will be a difficult time – as a family, discuss how the death has affected you
- If you’re thinking of making a claim, consider taking the probate work to the same firm