Six figure settlement secured for wife of experienced carpenter

Mr William Rundle was age 76 when he became unwell and was referred to hospital in April 2012 for tests. He underwent a surgical procedure and biopsies were taken but unfortunately, the results were negative but there was a suspicion of mesothelioma. Sadly, Mr Rundle's condition deteriorated rapidly and he passed away on 23 October 2012. A Post-Mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was due to the industrial disease of mesothelioma.

Prior to his illness, Mr Rundle was active for his age and was very hands on with DIY because he was an experienced carpenter.  Mr Rundle enjoyed attending the local social club with his wife and participated in dance classes and played snooker. 

Peter Williams was instructed to investigate a claim on behalf of the widow, Georgina Rundle after his death which had been caused by mesothelioma.  When Mr Rundle's son, Andrew contacted Fieldfisher he wasn't too sure where his father had been exposed to asbestos but was able to tell us that his father had worked most of his life as a carpenter in the exhibition industry. 

This was a claim where the family were unsure about the circumstances of Mr Rundle's exposure to asbestos and we therefore requested Mr Rundle's employment history from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) which listed an entry for The Mersey Insulation Co Ltd in 1964/65.  The name of the company suggested that it was a thermal insulation company and that the Deceased may have worked as a lagger. 

Peter Williams made contact with solicitors in the Liverpool area to see if they had acted on behalf of clients who had worked for this company.  Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness who had worked for the company around about the same time and even though he had not worked with the late Mr Rundle, he was able to describe that the company employed laggers to work on refurbishment of ships at the Mersey Docks.  The laggers removed old asbestos lagging from the pipes and boilers and also applied new asbestos lagging.  The ships were full of asbestos dust and fibres.

In addition, we were able to obtain a statement from the late Mr Rundle's brother who said that his brother had set up his own business sometime in the mid-60s making reproduction furniture but he recollected that his brother had mentioned to the family that he had worked for a period of time in Liverpool working alongside laggers who played with the asbestos and had snowball fights.  Mr Rundle was not able to remember the name of the company but it was clear from the witness who had come forward and the HMRC employment history that the description tied in with the Mersey Insulation Company.

We were able to trace the insurer and the claim was reported and on 7 April 2015 the insurer admitted liability.  Solicitor, Shaheen Mosquera entered into negotiation settlements and Mrs Rundle accepted a six figure settlement offer towards the end of September 2015.

Mr Rundle went on to say: 

"From the day Fieldfisher were instructed to deal with my late father's claim I felt I was in good hands.  I had every confidence in their professional and courteous manner and have always been shown respect and compassion during this difficult time.  I would therefore like to take this opportunity to express my grateful thanks to both Peter Williams and Shaheen Mosquera in pursuing the claim to a successful conclusion and for ensuring my mother will now have a secure financial future."

Contact us

For further information about mesothelioma claims, please call Peter Williams on 03304606805 or email peter.williams@fieldfisher.com.

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