Simon v London Borough of Bexley
We acted for Simon who has mesothelioma, recovering £180,000 damages within 5 months of being instructed.
Simon was employed by Bexley Council from 1965 to 1988 as a dustman and driver. He collected domestic, industrial and builders’ merchant’s waste from homes and businesses around Bexley, Kent. As part of his job, he also collected asbestos debris including asbestos corrugated sheets and old asbestos lagging covering pipes and boilers. He threw the asbestos refuse into the back of the lorry which was then crunched into the centre. He was further exposed to asbestos dust at landfill sites where the asbestos was tipped. Simon operated the tipping mechanism by levers and buttons from the back of the lorry. This meant that he was a few feet away whilst the lorry was tipping and any asbestos debris that had been collected would crunch up and fly in his face. The asbestos dust got all over his hair, hands and face. He then used to clean the back of the lorry out with a brush so that he could load up again.
Simon noticed he was becoming breathless in October 2006. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma following PET scans and CT scans at St Thomas’ Hospital and Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary Hospital. He has had radiotherapy and is about to start chemotherapy.
We traced some of Simon's former colleagues and obtained corroborative witness statements. Proceedings were issued against Bexley Council who conceded that they had breached their duty of care towards Simon and were negligent. The case was settled for the full amount of damages 5 months after Simon first contacted FFW.