We are delighted to report that we have recently succeeded in a claim for Mr D who sadly lost his mother, Mrs F, to mesothelioma in March of 2020 at the young age of 62.
Our client’s mother’s condition was confirmed with the aid of a biopsy procedure, but we were instructed post death. Such cases can be more difficult to win as no lifetime witness statement is available from the deceased referring to how they came to be exposed to airborne asbestos dust.
Exposed as a cleaner
However, our client did discuss with his mother, before she sadly passed away, how she came to be exposed to asbestos dust in the past. She explained that for a period of about 12 months during tax year 1977/78 she was employed by Shepherd Construction Limited as a cleaner working at building sites in the North East.
Evidence obtained in support of the mesothelioma claim explained that Mrs F was aware that asbestos sheets were used in the construction of houses being erected on the building sites where she worked. The asbestos sheets were used within the houses, for example, to fireproof staircases and ceilings. They were also used on the outside of the houses, for example to form soffits.
Significant asbestos dust released
Mr D described discussions with his mother who stated that tradesmen sawed, drilled and fitted the asbestos sheets. These activities generated considerable quantities of asbestos fibres, dust and debris. Mrs F had to walk past tradesmen who were performing these activities, both outdoors and inside houses. She was exposed to asbestos fibres and dust as a result of having to do so.
The deceased’s job involved having to sweep up dust and debris in the houses. Asbestos dust and debris formed part of the mess she swept up. The process of sweeping up the dust and debris raised substantial quantities of respirable asbestos fibres and dust into the deceased’s breathing zone in unprotected conditions and Mr D relied upon this as proof of negligence in support of his claim for mesothelioma compensation.
Importantly, there was no evidence that the deceased was exposed to asbestos dust outside of her work for Shepherd’s.
A detailed medical report was relied upon in support of the mesothelioma claim with the respiratory expert confirming that the exposure described “materially and substantially increased the risk that she would develop mesothelioma”. It was argued that causation had, therefore, been proven.
The Defendant fought the claim
The Defendant filed a Defence to the claim in March of 2021. Whilst it did not dispute that the deceased died of mesothelioma, they did not believe our client had established sufficient evidence of exposure to prove negligence and/or breach of statutory duty.
The suggestion was put forward that by 1977/78 there was a real possibility that the deceased had mistaken asbestos materials for “supalux”, which looked similar but did not contain any asbestos at all.
Independent witness evidence secured
In view of the arguments raised, we carried out further investigations and were able to uncover independent witness evidence from a carpenter who worked for Shepherd’s around the same time as the deceased. This confirmed that the company was indeed still using asbestolux, which contained a significant amount of asbestos, deep into the 1970s.
The Defendant settled the claim shortly after the further supportive evidence was disclosed.
This was a particularly tragic claim where our client lost his mother at a very young age. It was vital to hold the Defendant to account for her sad death and secure some sense of justice. The case shows that even in mesothelioma claims where no witness evidence is available from the deceased, cases can still succeed.
If you require assistance in pursuing a mesothelioma claim or believe you have a potential claim for 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.