Damages recovered for mesothelioma victim living near asbestos factory

We were instructed in November 2007 by Robyn who has mesothelioma.  Her only exposure to asbestos dust occurred between 1945 and 1949, during which period Robyn was aged between 3 and 7, when she lived at two addresses each about a quarter of a mile from the Cape Asbestos Company factory on Harts Lane, Barking, Essex.  Robyn also went to Northbury School, on North Street, directly opposite the factory.

Robyn had no recollection of conditions in the streets surrounding the Cape factory. She remembered attending Northbury School.  We obtained a statement from her sister who is two years older than Robyn in which she stated that the family lived at the two addresses in question and that she and the Claimant went to Northbury School.  The sister was, however, not able to recall environmental conditions around the factory.

From the files of previous cases we have conducted of neighbourhood exposure from the Cape factory, we were able to put forward evidence that asbestos dust accumulated on doorsteps, window and windowsills of houses around the factory, that asbestos dust, when windows were open, got into houses and onto curtains and furniture inside, that the roads and pavements around the factory had a layer of asbestos dust on them and that flecks of asbestos dust were seen on the playground at Northbury School.

This evidence prompted Cape to make an early admission of liability and the claim settled on a full liability value, six months after instructions.