Our client, Mr W, contacted us following the sad loss of his mother who suffered with mesothelioma as a result of secondary exposure to asbestos from her husband’s work clothes. We were able to claim against the Defendant for her suffering and early passing as a result of their negligence as her husband’s employer.
Exposure to asbestos
Our client’s father would come home from work every day in his work clothing which was heavily contaminated with asbestos fibres and dust as was he himself. After he had removed his work clothing, his wife would shake it in order to get the dust off. This caused significant quantities of respirable asbestos fibres and dust to rise up into the breathing zone. There was further exposure as a result of contact with her husband and as a result of asbestos fibres and dust being shed from his hair and person. As a result of the deceased being exposed to asbestos in these ways she suffered injury and sadly later passed away.
Our client could recall discussions he’d had with his father about how he had worked on many council properties including schools, offices, homes and depots. In the joiners’ shop in the depot in Bromborough asbestos boards were cut to size. He cut asbestos sheets to make wall panels and ceilings. He cut the sheets with a hand saw. He understood that he had been cutting asbestos sheeting around fire doors in order to remove them from the 1970’s until the early 1980’s approximately.
Mr W even recalled visiting the joiners’ shop and seeing asbestos boards. His father drove a van for work which contained sheets of asbestos material and he brought this home.
Our client’s father would come home from work covered in grey/white dust which he believes to have been asbestos dust. He wore a nylon jacket which was provided by his employer. His pockets would often be full of dust although dust did not sit on the jacket itself due to the smooth type of material. He wore normal clothes under the jacket including shirts and trousers. He returned home from work in dust-covered overalls and his wife used to shake his dusty clothes, outside in the summer and inside in the winter, before washing them, which she did twice a week on average.
Work history
In order to prove that our client’s mother’s exposure was a result of her husband’s work. We needed to request the employment history of both our client’s mother and father. This showed that there was no employment where asbestos exposure was likely to have occurred during our client’s working life. It also identified the Defendant, Wirral Borough Council, as being a former employer of her husband. We then contacted them directly with the full details of our allegations of negligence and continued to chase them for offers in settlement of this claim.
Care and assistance claim
A further part of the claim for our client was the time and money he spent caring for his ill mother. Our client and his wife assisted his late mother in various ways. Such assistance included, attending to her shopping, helping her around the home, dealing with really upsetting behaviour changes, attending to multiple phone calls to offer reassurance, dealing with medications, to ensure that she was not leaving the house, to arrange ambulances to take her to hospital and attending to any other household tasks that were required.
His mother’s care and assistance needs progressed from needing help a few times per week to visiting on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times per day, to assist with additional visits to doctors and hospitals. We were able to claim for all of this care and assistance which was required as a result of the Defendant’s negligence.
If you require assistance in pursuing an asbestos compensation claim for mesothelioma or any other asbestos disease then please contact us today on our freephone number 0800 038 6767. Alternatively, head over to the ‘Contact Us’ page, complete the form and we will be in touch.