Receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease will almost certainly be life-changing, affecting not only your health and wellbeing on a daily basis but also potentially having a serious financial impact on you and your loved ones.
Whichever asbestos-related condition you are suffering from – in particular mesothelioma, asbestosis or pleural thickening – bringing a personal injury claim can be an important early step to take.
Our experienced Injury Services team has specialist asbestos-related disease lawyers, Sylvia Phillips and Andrew Wilson, who advise many clients in this particular area of personal injury law. They specialise specifically in compensation for asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis.
Martyn and Andrew are part of a Personal Injury team which has consistently achieved top rankings from independent client guides The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for over 20 years. The firm is also accredited by The Law Society for Personal Injury Law.
If you are worried about the cost of making a claim, don’t be. We offer ‘no win, no fee’ type arrangements which mean there is no up-front cost to begin your asbestos compensation claim and no financial risk to you if your claim is not successful.*
*Subject to entering into a conditional fee agreement in conjunction with a suitable insurance policy to cover any unrecovered disbursements and complying with your responsibilities under the terms of both.
Book a free no-obligation chat about starting your mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease claim
You, and possibly your loved ones, are almost certain to have questions you want to ask before starting your personal injury claim. These may include:
- Whether you have grounds to make a claim for asbestos compensation?
- How much compensation might you be entitled to?
- What happens if we are unable to trace the organisation or person responsible for your asbestos-related illness or other industrial injury?
- How long might a claim take to process?
- Is it possible to get an interim compensation payment in the short term to help fund private treatment or rehabilitation?
- Is it possible to claim if you caught an asbestos-related disease by washing your partner’s dust-covered overalls rather than being in the workplace yourself?
- Is it possible for a spouse/partner to make a claim after the death of their loved one from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease?
In order to answer these questions and any others you may have we offer a free initial consultation with one of our specialist lawyers. We usually offer to come and meet you in your home to do this.
Although our offices are in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, we regularly act for families in other locations where there has traditionally been a strong industrial presence and often have clients in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, and Leicestershire in particular.
If for any reason you do not want a home visit, we can have our initial consultation virtually on Microsoft Teams or another digital platform of your choice. Alternatively we can offer a face-to-face appointment in either our Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Norwich or Ipswich offices.
To arrange a free initial consultation with one of our specialist asbestos solicitors, please contact our Cambridge office.
Our mesothelioma and asbestos-related disease claims expertise
We have a strong track record of successful asbestos compensation claims in relation to:
- Mesothelioma
- Asbestosis
- Respiratory injury
- Pleural thickening
- Lung cancer caused by asbestos
Our Injury Services team also has extensive expertise in various other types of industrial diseases and workplace injuries.
How we can help you to claim asbestos and mesothelioma compensation
Working out whether you can claim and who is responsible
We will collect together and then review all the evidence. This will include talking to you, and perhaps current or former colleagues, about the conditions in the workplace. In the case of asbestos-related diseases, this often means creating a timeline of a range of different employments.
Many tradesmen such as carpenters, joiners, plumbers, painters and decorators, construction workers, electricians, shop fitters and building surveyors moved between premises and were often exposed to asbestos dust in several different locations over a number of years.
In any mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease claim we need to look at:
- Duty of Care – what should your employer business have done to protect you?
- Statutory Duty – what laws were in place at the time your injury was caused?
- Did your employers breach their Duty of Care or Statutory Duty?
- How were you exposed to whatever substance or process caused your injury?
Sometimes we find that someone who develops an asbestos-related disease cannot think of a workplace where they might have been exposed to asbestos dust.
In these cases, it can be that they have suffered secondary exposure, perhaps by dust being brought home by a partner or spouse on their work clothes and then then released into the air in the home. Another form of exposure can be living close to a factory where asbestos dust is circulating.
Why asbestos-related disease claims are different to other injury claims
The majority of people who develop mesothelioma, asbestosis or any other asbestos-related disease, do so several decades after being exposed to asbestos. So they don’t always remember straight away where they might have come into contact with it. Our specialists are used to this and will ask the right questions to help ensure that the evidence for your personal injury claim is as strong as possible.
Valuing your asbestos compensation claim
We will calculate how much compensation you might be entitled to receive. This will include an assessment of your injuries and their likely impact on your financial position and your lifestyle.
The value of asbestos claims varies widely depending on the severity of the illness or injury, the time of life at which you become ill, who is dependent upon you and your financial position at the time you receive your injury or diagnosis.
Here are just some examples of the wide range of different asbestos-related disease and industrial disease settlements we have achieved for our clients recently:
- Six figure settlement secured for mesothelioma sufferer’s family – Ashtons Legal
- £50,000 obtained for former Norfolk carpenter – Ashtons Legal Solicitors
- Six-figure sum obtained for family of mesothelioma sufferer – Ashtons Legal
- Substantial settlement for a Norfolk man diagnosed with Mesothelioma (ashtonslegal.co.uk)
- Rapid £50,000 initial payment obtained for Suffolk mesothelioma sufferer – Ashtons Legal
- £175,000 obtained for family of Cambridgeshire mesothelioma sufferer – Ashtons Legal
- Five figure sum obtained for family of Norfolk metal worker – Ashtons Legal
- Over £100,000 obtained for family of mesothelioma sufferer – Ashtons Legal
- £40,000 obtained for family of asbestos-related lung cancer sufferer – Ashtons Legal
Obtaining interim payments for asbestos-related disease claims
We will almost always try to obtain an interim payment for you. An interim payment is an initial payment made early in the claim, prior to the final value of the claim being capable of being calculated.
Interim payments may be to help pay for private treatment, to replace lost income, or to enable you to maximise your quality of life for the remainder of your life if your condition is terminal. At the very least it will help to ensure that you do not suffer financial hardship while your claim is ongoing.
The process of an asbestos disease claim
Most personal injury claims, including mesothelioma and wider asbestos-related disease claims, are settled out of court. We negotiate a settlement with the person or organisation responsible for causing your injury or illness, usually through their insurance company or solicitor.
Through skilful negotiation, we can often obtain a good settlement without the need to go to court, which means you will receive your compensation more quickly and not have the potential stress of attending court.
If court proceedings are needed to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve, we will make sure that we make the best possible case for you and will also provide you with the support you need at what may be a difficult time.
Just occasionally with an asbestos-related disease where the damage was done many years ago, it is not possible to track down the person or organisation responsible. In this case, if you are suffering from mesothelioma, we can help you to make a claim under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.
Claiming for an asbestos-related disease when someone has died
Sadly, some people who are diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, and in particular mesothelioma, reach quite an advanced stage before their cancer is diagnosed. This sometimes means that a sufferer will lose their battle before a personal injury claim has been brought or concluded. We have successfully claimed on many occasions for families where the asbestos-related-disease victim has passed away.
Some of our clients require specialist palliative care in their local hospice and we are fortunate to have many excellent ones throughout East Anglia and beyond. We will always try to claim back the hospice fees as part of a personal injury claim.
To do this we will need to know where the treatment was provided and we will contact the hospice for details of the costs. We can include this as part of the injury claim and then, on successful conclusion of the claim, will provide a separate cheque for you or your family to present to the hospice.
Book your free initial consultation with our specialist asbestos lawyers
To arrange your free initial consultation in complete confidence with our highly experienced specialist asbestos lawyers, please contact our Cambridge office.