Victory for marine engine fitter exposed to asbestos in 1950s
John had a chest x-ray in January which was clear but his chest infection did not resolve and he continued to have pain in the left side of his chest when he coughed. By August he was still suffering from a persistent cough and in September, John was referred to the local hospital for further investigations. At that time a chest x-ray showed fluid on the left lung and the consultant referred John for a biopsy and in October, he was given the results of the biopsy.
Prior to the diagnosis of mesothelioma John was very fit and healthy because he had a HGV driving license and had to undergo stringent annual medicals. He was also a trained firefighter and a licensed Civil Aviation Authority instructor. John enjoyed going for regular walks to the seafront and enjoyed looking at the boats. He also enjoyed travelling to Cyprus to visit his friend. John was volunteering once a week as a Civil Aviation Authority instructor for the Voluntary Emergency Service and he was also instructing firefighters at the Full Sutton airfield in York. He taught the firefighters aviation firefighting and aircraft rescue techniques.
John was exposed to asbestos between 1954 and 1959 when he worked as an apprentice marine engine fitter for Humber St Andrew's Engineering Company Ltd and was based at St Andrew's Dock in Hull. During the course of his apprenticeship, he worked on the vessels and came into contact with asbestos when replacing brake linings on steam winches, working in engine rooms and coming into contact with asbestos insulation and working in the vicinity of laggers who were lagging the pipe work. John was exposed to asbestos from the age of 15 until he finished his apprenticeship in 1959
John contacted Fieldifsher and Shaheen arranged to visit John at home the same week.
It was clear from John's evidence that he had been exposed to significant quantities of asbestos with Humber St Andrew's Engineering Company but the case was not straightforward because even though the company was active it was a dormant company. The company's insurance broker advised that they had not been able to trace the identity of the employer's liability insurer.
Shaheen had to investigate the company's financial position in order to establish whether the company had enough assets to meet the claim and therefore decided to also submit a claim to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme which is a government Scheme of last resort for individuals who have been exposed to asbestos but are not able to trace an insurer.
Shaheen was then advised that John's former employer's parent company had instructed solicitors and she therefore pressed the solicitors about the parent company and whether it had acquired the liabilities of Humber St Andrew's Engineering Company. John's case was urgent because he did not have any dependants and therefore it was very important that the case was settled as soon as possible. Eventually, the solicitors confirmed that the parent company would meet any claims and therefore court proceedings were commenced. Judgment for liability was entered in John's favour and John accepted a six figure settlement offer.
John went on to say:
"Thank you for a very successful outcome of my case, which was entirely due to the high professional standards in which it was handled".
Contact us
For further information about mesothelioma compensation claims, please call Shaheen Mosquera on 03304606817 or email shaheen.mosquera@fieldfisher.com.
Alternatively
- You can speak to our asbestos disease lawyers on freephone 0800 358 3848
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