Mesothelioma settlement includes loss of care and services provided by devoted family man
The settlement was particularly important in that it included an amount for the huge loss of care and services provided by the claimant to his wife, his children and his then seven grandchildren.
Mr S married his wife in 1977 and the couple had four children, one son and three daughters. They moved from Surrey to North Wiltshire in 1982 following his promotion.
In a witness statement, Mr S said that generally when he made site visits for both councils he was surrounded by asbestos dust and debris, including old piping and corrugated asbestos sheeting lying around on the ground. There was rarely adequate washing facilities on site, meaning Mr S spent the day with dust on his clothes and body. He particularly remembers his face often draped with cobwebs covered with asbestos dust.
As his career progressed, Mr S focused primarily on bigger complexes including large derelict sites in various stages of disrepair most containing asbestos.
Meanwhile, Mr S continued to play a huge part in the lives of his children, always ready and willing to offer financial and emotional support whenever needed. Not only did he renovate his own house, he helped his son rebuild his kitchen, built a loft conversion and landscaped the garden. His son had recently bought a plot of land and he and his father were planning to build a house on it.
Mr and Mrs S regularly provided childcare, looking after their grandchildren several times a week, saving their children the cost of external childcare.
Having always been very physically fit, including completing marathons, Mr S and his wife began to enjoy his early retirement from 2009 onwards, a large part of which included helping out his family.
On holiday in Snowdonia in 2018, however, Mr S was so concerned with breathlessness he went to his GP and later was referred to Salisbury hospital where a biopsy was taken and large volumes of fluid drained from his lungs.
As his health continued to deteriorate, Mrs S looked after him at home with little external support from health services. They were told that the prescribed chemotherapy was not having any effect and the treatment ceased. Sadly, Mr S died in February 2019.
Despite ongoing support from her children, Mrs S suffered greatly from the death of her husband from whom she was rarely apart during their marriage.
With the help of witness statements from friends and former colleagues who also worked in planning and development, Peter was able to access funds and final settlement from the insurers of both councils. Peter said he was very pleased that the enormous amount of help and care Mr S provided to his family was recognised within the settlement.
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For further information about mesothelioma claims, please call Peter Williams on 0330 460 6805 or email peter.williams@fieldfisher.com.
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