Family recover compensation for deceased father who worked at London Docks

Mr A had been suffering from dementia when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was able to recall that he had worked in the London docks from the 1950s until about 1979 where he unloaded different types of cargo which he believed included asbestos. He also remembered that after he left the docks he went to work for BT, retiring from there in 1989.

Mr A could remember cleaning ventilation and air conditioning shafts while working as a labourer on the engineering side.

Unfortunately, Mr A was extremely ill when the mesothelioma was diagnosed and there was no time to obtain any further evidence about his exposure to asbestos before he passed away in December 2010, aged 86.

Because of his memory problems, it is not known if he would have remembered further details about his employment and asbestos exposure given more time.

Mr A’s wife had died a few years previously, but his family were able to provide information about his work and found some documents to confirm this. There was also evidence that he had been placed on the asbestos register when he worked for BT. The family had instructed Caroline Pinfold who settled the claim on a full liability basis for the benefit of Mr A’s family in April 2013.

Mr A's family had this to say about Caroline after the case:
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Caroline and Dushal Mehta for the courteous and professional way you dealt with my father’s claim, keeping me informed at all stages. You were contactable and returned my calls promptly. Although evidence was difficult to obtain, you persevered and negotiated a satisfactory settlement."