Our specialist asbestos team have secured six-figure compensation for the widow of a former rigger who died of an asbestos-related cancer aged just 69.
Our client, Mr D, worked for the Jordan Engineering Group throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s. He worked on contracts at various places around Bristol, including the Smelting Works at Avonmouth, ICI Severnside, Hinkley Power Station and Berkley Power Station. He also worked at dairy factories and power stations across the UK.
While erecting steelwork and replacing pipework for other tradesmen, he recalled seeing laggers (insulation engineers) mixing up asbestos powder in large drums. This caused asbestos dust to float into the air which everyone working in the area then inhaled. Mr D also had to rip off old asbestos lagging from pipework himself when he needed to access it for work.
It was some years later, when Mr D was on holiday in 2015, that he first noticed a pain in his side. After seeing doctors back at home, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October that same year.
Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer often found to be caused by inhaling asbestos. Prior to his illness Mr D was fit and healthy, and a keen cyclist.
The Dispute
Mr D asked us for help shortly after his diagnosis and we began a personal injury claim for him in November 2015. Sadly, he passed away as a result of his disease in June 2016. His wife continued the claim on his behalf and we supported her through the process.
When we approached the insurers for Mr D’s former employers, they denied liability for the claim made by his widow. They said that Mr D had been a ‘self-employed subcontractor’ rather than an employee. The insurers also claimed that their insurance policies didn’t cover the companies in question.
We took this to HMRC to find out which company actually employed Mr D. We also worked with an insurance archaeologist to look into Jordan Engineering’s insurance history in detail. After this investigation, it became clear that both Jordan Engineering Ltd and A Jordan & Sons Ltd were Mr D’s former employers and therefore responsible for the claim.
With our help, the insurers agreed to a settlement without the claim having to go to court. Mr D’s widow kindly donated some of this money to the hospice that supported her husband before he died.
If you or a loved one has been affected by an asbestos-related disease then you may be able to make a claim. Either call us on 0370 1500 100 or fill in our contact form and we’ll call you back. See our Asbestos Related Disease Claims Guide for more information.
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