In 2006, the Personal Injury Practice at Fieldfisher (FFW) recovered over £10 million in compensation for victims of asbestos-related diseases in 87 successful cases. The lawyers in FFW’s Personal Injury Practice have recovered over £106 million in 1800 successful claims.
Some of the significant cases over the past year have included:
- FFW won a £400,000 damages payout in the High Court for a carpenter who has mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer on the lining of the lungs or abdomen. This was believed to be one of the highest ever payouts made in such a case and it allowed the claimant, Amarjeet Singh Dahele to continue treatment with the drug Alimta which was not available to him through the NHS.
- FFW represented an 83-year-old man who had developed mesothelioma from time spent working as an apprentice in the mechanical department at Beckton Gas Works.Fieldfisherrecovered £107,500 in compensation for the man, which took into account that his wife, for whom he had been the full-time carer, had to be moved into a home following the development of his disease.
- In March,Fieldfisherrecovered further damages worth £385,000 for a former lagger, who suffers from asbestosis, a serious, long-term lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos dust over a period of time. His condition had seriously deteriorated sinceFieldfisherrecovered provisional damages for him in 1990.
- FFW represented a former BT installation engineer, who had developed mesothelioma whilst working for the company for 14 years. Sadly, the claimant died in April 2005, but left a widow who carried on with the claim.Fieldfisherrecovered £148,000 in compensation from BT who also paid the claimant’s legal fees.
Asbestos-related diseases affect thousands of people in the UK each year. Factory workers and labourers are amongst those who are commonly affected, butFieldfisherhave also acted on behalf of professionals such as doctors, nurses and teachers who have been exposed to asbestos through their work.
Rodney Nelson-Jones, head of the Personal Injury Practice at FFW, said: “I am delighted that in 2006 we were able to win over £10 million in compensation for the victims of these terrible diseases. It is crucial that sufferers and their families receive the compensation they deserve.”