£79,267 Compensation for Asbestos Related Illness

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Anthony Waddington

Partner, Industrial Disease Claims

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Client Situation

Kenneth was an apprentice welder in 1967, where he was exposed to asbestos, that caused an industrial disease many years later. Unfortunately, our client passed away during the claim process, but we managed to secure compensation for his family following his death.

Kenneth Reynolds was in good health and able to enjoy life following his retirement, but in 2016, he began having problems with his balance and went to see his GP. He was sent for a number of CT scans and was diagnosed as suffering with vascular dementia.

Vascular Dementia is caused by a reduction in blood flow to the brain, which can sadly kill brain cells.

Around this time, he also began struggling with breathlessness and started losing his breathe when he would leave the house. Because of this, Mr Reynolds again went to see his GP, who referred him to hospital, where fluid was found on his lungs which he subsequently had drained.

He was soon diagnosed with the terminal cancer mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer of the lining of the lungs, and he wasn’t offered any further treatment other than palliative care and assistance due to his frailty.

There are around 2,500 new mesothelioma cases in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research’s latest estimates. Most cases are diagnosed in people aged 60-80 and men are more commonly affected than women.

Due to his cancer, Mr Reynolds became housebound and lost his appetite. His daughter-in-law gave up her job as a teaching assistant to look after him, while he also received visits from the hospice nurse to assist with his medication and provide high-calorie liquid meals.

Get in touch today!

To find out more about how we can help following a work-related mesothelioma diagnosis, get in touch with our Industrial Disease team.

How We Helped

Mr Reynolds contacted our Industrial Disease Solicitors to claim compensation and his case was taken on by Partner, Anthony Waddington, who specialises in Asbestos Claims.

Anthony gathered details of Mr Reynolds’ complete working history to find out when and where he was exposed to asbestos, so that we could identify who was responsible for causing his condition – this information would summarise who we could make a claim against.Mr Reynolds told us that he believed he was exposed to asbestos during his time at Appledore Dockyard, where he worked as an apprentice welder back in 1967. After completing his apprenticeship, he became a fully qualified welder, and remained at the company until 1984 – so he had a seventeen-year career with this employer.

The dockyard he worked at was a dry dock that dealt with the building of a whole range of ships, including military vessels, ferries, oil tankers and tugs. Dry docks are docks that can be drained of water to allow repairs and inspection of boats or ships. Mr Reynolds was involved in the construction of ships from start to finish, and as a welder, he’d be called to work in every part of these vessels.

Asbestos was used as an insulator on the service pipes running through the ships and our client stated that he had recalled seeing pipes being lagged with asbestos – which would come in pre-cut sections before being cut and fitted on board the ship. Asbestos sheeting was also used to line sections of the cabins and the bulkheads below decks, an area where our client frequently worked.

Along with this, Mr Reynolds would regularly work next to and nearby people cutting the asbestos sheeting, often in cramped, enclosed areas without proper ventilation. Vast amounts of asbestos dust would spew out when the asbestos sheets were cut with electric saws.

While the people who were cutting the asbestos sheeting were provided with paper masks, these were not provided to Mr Reynolds or to other tradesmen working close by. Athough he was given a welding mask to protect him from sparks which he used when carrying out welding, this did not provide any respiratory protection. Our client wasn’t given any other protection when he walked around the ship – even when he would walk through areas where the asbestos work was being carried out. Furthermore, Mr Reynolds told us that even if he had been given a paper mask, it would have been unlikely to have provided much protection anyway due to the volume of dust.

Anthony Waddington argued that our client wasn’t given any warnings about the dangers of asbestos exposure when he was working at the Appledore Dockyard, and that no special precautions were taken to reduce his exposure when he was walking through areas where asbestos was being cut and fitted. In addition, Anthony found that while some ships did have extractor units to try to remove the asbestos dust, these weren’t always effective.

Mr Reynolds couldn’t recall any other period of employment when he was exposed to asbestos, so Anthony was confident that the exposure that caused his Mesothelioma occurred during his 17-year employment at Appledore Dockyard.

During the Case

Sadly, our client Mr Reynolds passed away while the claim was ongoing. Anthony continued the claim on behalf of his Estate for the benefit of his son Darren, and attended the Inquest into the death with the family at Devon County Hall.

Solicitor Anthony Waddington dealt with the coroner, providing evidence to support their investigations and supporting their conclusion that Mr Reynolds died as a result of his exposure to asbestos. Anthony also took care of the Probate for the family in order that his son could continue the claim on behalf of Mr Reynold’s Estate.

The Outcome

Anthony secured a compensation settlement of £79,267 for the benefit of the deceased's son from Appledore Shipbuilders. He also obtained Mr Reynolds’ government benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions within 6 weeks of instruction. He managed to secure a £13,998 lump sum – plus a weekly Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit payment of £174.

How Simpson Millar Can Help

For many of our clients, the legal process is dealt with within weeks of diagnosis through the Veterans Agency or Mesothelioma Payment Scheme. This takes away so much stress and is a quick, almost rubber stamp process, allowing lump sums of compensation to be paid out quickly so that our clients can make their own financial arrangements whilst they are well enough to do so.

We understand that working with a Solicitor may seem daunting, and that feeling often isn’t helped by the legal jargon, so we’ll always speak to you in straightforward terms. We are compassionate and understanding and can help families even with the death of a loved one – Call us on 0808 239 0144 and let us, help you.

References:

UK Government. (2022). Defence Medical Policing Service Annual Review 2021/2022. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/637cba858fa8f53f44948813/dmps-annual-review-2021-2022.pdf

UK Government. (n.d.). Veterans UK. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterans-uk

UK Government. (n.d.). Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit

UK Government. (n.d.). Department for Work and Pensions. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions

Mesothelioma.com. (n.d.). Pleural Mesothelioma. Retrieved from https://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/types/pleural/

Asbestos.com. (n.d.). Peritoneal Mesothelioma. Retrieved from https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/peritoneal/

Mesothelioma.com. (n.d.). Pericardial Mesothelioma. Retrieved from https://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/types/pericardial/

Cancer Research UK. (n.d.). Mesothelioma - Cancer Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/mesothelioma

Simpson Millar. (n.d.). Mesothelioma Compensation Claims. Retrieved from https://www.simpsonmillar.co.uk/industrial-disease-claims/asbestos-claims/mesothelioma-compensation-claims/

NHS. (n.d.). Vascular Dementia. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vascular-dementia/

Anthony Waddington

Partner, Industrial Disease Claims

Areas of Expertise:
Industrial Disease

Anthony is a Partner in our Industrial Disease department and specialises in high value Industrial Disease Claims.

He joined Simpson Millar as a Paralegal in 2006, and completed his training contract three years later, working in Simpson Millar's Industrial Disease, Civil Litigation and Personal Injury departments.

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