When faced with a diagnosis of asbestos disease, it can be a daunting time. There are so many questions about your condition, treatment and prognosis and trying to remember to ask all your questions and take in the answers is difficult. On top of that, your doctor has told you that you should contact a solicitor and claim asbestos disease compensation.
How do you choose a solicitor? How will you pay them? What will you need to do?
It can be overwhelming but we are here to take the stress away from you and do all of the hard work.
Choose a specialist asbestos disease solicitor
The first step is to find a solicitor who specialises in asbestos disease compensation claims. The days of having one solicitor who deals with all your legal issues are long gone and lawyers now tend to specialise in one specific area. Asbestos disease claims law is a niche, highly specialist area. You need to be sure that your solicitor knows what they are doing. Here at Asbestos Justice, our solicitors have over 30 years of experience in dealing with all forms of asbestos disease claims which are run with speed and professionalism.
How will I pay my solicitor?
The short answer is you won’t pay anything out of your own pocket. All of our asbestos disease compensation claims are dealt with on a no win, no fee basis.
What you should expect on your first contact with us
Our first contact with new clients is usually on the phone, either we will receive a call on our freephone number 0800 038 6767 or we will call someone who has made an enquiry through our Asbestos Claims Calculator or Contact Form.
We will ask you about your condition, whether you have been diagnosed with an asbestos condition or whether you are still undergoing investigations into your health problems. You don’t need to wait until you receive a formal diagnosis to get in touch with us, we can start the ball rolling with our claim investigations, so when you do have details of the diagnosis, everything is ready to go.
We will also ask you about your exposure to asbestos, which companies you worked for when you were exposed, what work you were doing and when you were doing this. Don’t worry if you can’t remember the dates of your employment or the exact company names, as part of your claim, we will request your schedule of employment from HMRC which will detail the companies you worked for and the tax years you were employed.
We will answer any questions you may have and want to ensure that by the end of our call, you are comfortable with the next steps and are not concerned about any part of the asbestos claims process.
At the end of the first call, we may have enough information to say that it is a claim we can take on, in which case we would then arrange to send you our client care paperwork which includes our no win, no fee agreement. We would then arrange a telephone call or a home visit if you prefer, to go through the paperwork with you.
In some cases, we may need further information and we will continue to investigate your claim on a fully no win, no fee basis, until such time as we can provide you with full advice on the merits of a claim and your options.
There are time limits for bringing a claim. If Court proceedings are not issued within 3 years of you becoming aware of a significant injury that you should have attributed in whole or in part to the negligence of your employer, or within three years of the date of someone’s death attributed in whole or in part to the negligence of their employer, you will be prevented from bringing any asbestos compensation claim at any future date. The law dictates that when you experience problems you should make enquiries with your doctor promptly as to the possible cause. The Court can exercise its discretion in extending this time period but this is not guaranteed. It is, therefore, important that you look into a claim at the earliest opportunity.
The claims process
Witness evidence
One of the main elements in pursuing an asbestos disease compensation claim involves putting together the evidence. This generally takes the form of a witness statement from our client, although in cases where the person exposed to asbestos has sadly already passed away, we would try to obtain evidence from former colleagues or family members who may have spoken to them about their work.
The collecting of witness evidence is usually done over the phone and our specialist asbestos disease solicitors or their assistants, will take you through the employment history and ask questions about the work you did, how, where, when and how often you were exposed to asbestos.
As we have to cover your full employment history, from leaving school to date, we have to go back many years and it is not uncommon for someone to struggle to recall dates or company names. However, we will obtain your employment schedule from the HMRC and go through this with you as the precise dates will be confirmed on this helpful document.
Medical evidence
As well as witness evidence, we also have to obtain medical evidence. This takes the form of a report from a respiratory expert and will detail how your condition affects you and your likely prognosis. We use this report along with guidelines from the Court and past court decisions, to value your claim. Depending on your condition and your general health, we may need you to attend an appointment with the medical expert so they can examine you and carry out some tests of their own. They will also speak to you about your work and how you were exposed to asbestos in order that they can confirm the link between your asbestos exposure and your symptoms.
Engineering evidence
In some cases, we have to obtain engineering evidence. This tends to be when defendants are arguing that you were not exposed to sufficient asbestos to cause your condition. We will send the engineer your witness evidence and any relevant documents to help them prepare their report.
Negotiation
Once all the evidence has been presented to the defendant or defendants, it is hoped that they will come back to us with a reasonable offer in settlement of your claim. If an offer is made, there is likely to be some negotiation to increase the offer and we will deal with all of this on your behalf. Your specialist asbestos disease solicitor will keep you up to date on the situation and will take your instructions on any offers they have received.
If a suitable amount can be agreed on, the claim will be settled and your compensation will be paid to you via bank transfer.
Court proceedings
If settlement cannot be agreed, or if the time limit for bringing a claim is approaching, we will issue Court proceedings. If Court proceedings are issued in your asbestos claim, this does not mean that you will end up going to a final Court hearing. Issuing Court proceedings can help speed a claim up where the defendants are dragging their feet as the Court will set a timetable for the claim with deadlines that have to be met by both sides.
In very rare asbestos disease claims, cases do go to a final Court hearing, known as a trial. However, your solicitor will update you throughout each step of the proceedings and a barrister will be instructed to represent you at trial. Your solicitor and barrister will fully prepare you for the trial and will be with you throughout.
Length of a claim
We are regularly asked how long a claim takes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a specific timeframe as every claim is different. Claims where there are multiple defendants often take more time than a claim with just one defendant. If there is a dispute over the amount of asbestos exposure and engineering evidence is needed, this will take time.
All we can say is that we try to settle claims as quickly as possible, we know clients don’t want their claim dragging on. We have settled mesothelioma claims in as little as two months. There are factors that can delay a claim that are out of our hands, but we will do everything in our power to ensure claims do not take any longer than necessary. We pride ourselves on achieving fast, high compensation settlements for our clients.
Amount of compensation
We often get asked how much a claim is worth on day one, however, without all the information and evidence it is not possible to give a specific value. We are able to give approximate brackets for the value of a claim based on your condition and age and you can use our Asbestos Claims Calculator to find out more.
As mentioned above, we use the medical report to help us value the claim, along with quantum guidelines for the Court, and once we have assessed the value for your claim, your specialist asbestos disease solicitor will discuss this with you and advise you on how much your asbestos claim is likely to settle for.
After the claim has settled
Private treatment
More and more, we are settling mesothelioma claims with provision for private treatment costs to be paid as part of the claim. In these cases, we will stay in touch with you and if you undergo any private treatment, we will ensure the defendant or their insurers pay your treatment costs.
Provisional settlement
For non-mesothelioma claims, such as those involving pleural thickening or asbestosis, we will most likely recommend that you settle your claim on a provisional basis. This means that, should your condition significantly deteriorate or should you be diagnosed with a further asbestos-related condition, we will be able to return to the defendants in your case and recover further compensation on your behalf at a future date. We will keep all the details of your claim on your file so should you need to return, we can easily help you with a further claim.
Trustpilot reviews
Once we have won your claim and you have received your compensation, we will ask you if you would like to write a review of our service, it is important to us that potential clients are able to see what our clients have thought about us and how we have dealt with their asbestos claim. We collect reviews through Trustpilot and you can read what our clients have said about us on past cases here. We are very proud to be rated “Excellent” with a score of 4.9 out of 5.
Case studies
We will also ask you if you would be happy for us to write a case study about your claim to go on our website. These are anonymous and they help other people to find us online, particularly if we have pursued a company that they have worked for in the past. You can read our case studies here.
If you require assistance in pursuing an asbestos disease claim 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.