Mesothelioma victim succeeds in claim from asbestos exposure at Fawley Power Station
Mesothelioma lawyers settle asbestos exposure claim for six-figure sum
Posted on 31 August 2016
Specialist asbestos lawyer Daniel Easton has settled a complex high value case for a gentleman suffering from peritoneal (stomach) mesothelioma claim.
Leigh Day was instructed following our client’s diagnosis. After interviewing him, we identified that he suffered asbestos exposure in the late 1960’s when working as a computer technician for English Electric while he was undertaking installation work at Fawley Power Station.
He was not a hands-on engineer and spent most of his time in a clean computer control room, occasionally venturing into the power station to monitor matters.
Cases of low level asbestos exposure in the late 60’s/early 70’s can be difficult because Defendants often plead ignorance about the risks of small amounts of asbestos, relying on unsatisfactory guidance issued during that time by the Government’s Factory Inspector.
Our client could not positively identify asbestos, but remembered going into the power station and seeing other people doing dusty jobs. We were able to pursue matters by locating supporting witnesses who described asbestos dust at the power station.
We pursued three defendants; our client’s employer English Electric, the factory owners and the company overseeing the construction work. None of the defendants admitted liability so we issued court proceedings and obtained a preliminary hearing in October 2015 where our barrister successfully argued that English Electric were liable.
We continued the claim against English Electric arguing the value of the claim.
Because our client ran his own company we had to obtain expert evidence from an accountant and surveyor to help assess the value of the case. We successfully argued that there was a significant value in the services he provided to his company managing properties and buying and selling shares. We then organised for our client to give his evidence at his home, rather than go to court.
After negotiations, we managed to agree a settlement at £350,000.
We had numerous meetings with our client to ensure we obtained the best information from him and to ensure he understood what was happening with the case. We always visited him at home where he was comfortable.