Mesothelioma Compensation Claims Solicitors

Who Can Claim Mesothelioma Compensation?

If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma and worked in an environment which resulted in you being exposed to asbestos then you may be able to make a claim for compensation. This is because any employer has a legal duty of care to take reasonable steps to keep their employees safe while working.

The legislation surrounding asbestos is clear in terms of the care which employers have to take when employees are working with or around it. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 set out how asbestos needs to be managed in non-domestic premises, as explained by the Health and Safety Executive

Asbestos itself was banned in the UK in 1999, but is still present in many buildings constructed before this time. If you have ever worked in a building of this kind then the legislation states that the person in charge of that building – known as the duty holder – has to do the following:

Take reasonable steps to discover whether there are any materials containing asbestos in the premises

If materials contain asbestos are present, the duty holder should take steps to find out the location, amount and condition of those materials

Without strong evidence to the contrary, it should be assumed that materials containing asbestos are present in the premises

An asbestos management plan should be created and maintained. Any asbestos risk assessment carried out needs to be reviewed and updated every 6-12 months.

They should make sure that employees likely to work on or disturb the materials containing asbestos which are present are aware of those materials, including their location and condition

If you worked in premises built or refurbished prior to 2000 and run the risk of being exposed to asbestos fibres, your employer has a legal duty to provide you with training in how to work in a way that minimises risk, as well as appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

If an employer failed to manage the asbestos present in a workplace under any of these criteria, then you may be in a position to make a mesothelioma compensation claim. In addition to the specific rules around asbestos, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 sets out the general duty of care which any employer has to their employees:

• To carry out risk assessments of work to be done
• To provide the training needed on using any equipment and managing the risks involved in any wor
• To provide personal protective equipment (PPE) which is fit for purpose in terms of minimising risks
• To maintain all equipment used in with reference to manufacturer’s instructions
• To take all reasonable steps to maintain a safe working environment

If you can show that an employer was aware of the risk of asbestos exposure in the workplace and failed to take the steps needed to protect you from that risk, resulting in you developing mesothelioma, then you may be able to claim compensation

Secondary Exposure

It is also possible to make a mesothelioma compensation claim if you didn’t work with or around asbestos, but were exposed to asbestos dust via a third party, such as a family member, who did. This is known as secondary exposure.

If you are the spouse or child of someone working with or around asbestos and they carry asbestos dust home on their clothes or other belongings then you could have breathed those dust fibres in. The same would apply if you handle the clothes, in order to wash them, for example.

If this exposure causes you to develop mesothelioma then you may be able to claim on the grounds of negligence allowing your family member to become contaminated with asbestos dust and fibres.

Armed forces personnel

The situation with regard to armed forces personnel and mesothelioma compensation claims is slightly more complicated. Before 1987, members of the armed forces were prohibited from pursuing personal injury claims against the MOD due to something called ‘Crown Immunity’.

This means that if you develop mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure which occurred during your time in the armed forces prior to 1987 then you can’t pursue a mesothelioma compensation claim. There are other options available, however, under the Mesothelioma Act 2014, which mean that anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma can claim a lump sum or traditional War Pension from the MOD.

If the asbestos exposure which led to your mesothelioma diagnosis took place after 1987 then, as a member or ex member of the armed forces, you will be free to pursue a mesothelioma compensation claim in the same way as anybody else.

Types of Compensation Available

There are several different routes to take when making a mesothelioma compensation claim, depending upon the precise circumstances of your case. As experts in delivering mesothelioma legal advice we’ve claimed compensation for our clients using all of the routes possible.

When you get in touch with us following a mesothelioma diagnosis, and decide that you’d like to make a mesothelioma compensation claim due to the negligence of an employer, we’ll explain which route would be best for you. The options are as follows:

Civil claims against employers

The majority of mesothelioma compensation claims take the form of civil claims against employers. This involves identifying the work you were doing at the time when you were exposed to asbestos fibres, and the employer who was negligent in allowing this to happen.

Once you’ve identified the employer we’ll inform them that you are seeking compensation for being exposed to asbestos dust and developing mesothelioma. The employer concerned, via their insurers, will either admit liability and make an offer of compensation, or deny liability.

If the employer denies liability, or offers compensation which we feel is inadequate, then the claim will be settled in court.

Claims against insurers

Many mesothelioma compensation claims are made on the basis of employment dating from decades in the past. This is because mesothelioma is a form of cancer with a long latency period, meaning symptoms only become apparent 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure happened.

Because of this, the company that you were working for may have gone out of business. In cases like this, we will search for the insurers the company took their Employer’s Liability insurance out with and will pursue them if we are able to locate them.

From 1969 onwards, UK employers must carry insurance of this kind, and we can pursue a mesothelioma compensation claim on your behalf against the insurer even if the employer is no longer around. The claims process will be the same either way.

Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS)

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) was created as part of the Mesothelioma Act 2014. It enables compensation to be claimed by people who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma in the following circumstances:

• They can’t find the relevant employer, because they have stopped trading
• They can’t find the employer’s insurer
• The employer has no assets with which to cover the cost of compensation

The DMPS can also make compensation to eligible relatives or dependants of someone who has died of mesothelioma. The amount payable under the DMPS will vary depending upon the age of the claimant when they were diagnosed. Examples of payments include:

• Aged 40 and under when diagnosed – £271,120
• Aged 50 – £234,309
• Aged 60 – £197,498
• Aged 70 – £160,685
• Aged 80 – £123,874
• Aged 90 and over – £87,061

If you need to make a claim through the DMPS we can help you with the process. The information you’ll need to make a mesothelioma compensation claim through the DMPS is as follows:

• National Insurance Number
• Age when diagnosed
• Evidence of the mesothelioma diagnosis and the date on which the diagnosis was made
• A copy of your full employment history
• A copy of evidence to support this account of your employment history
• Evidence of the unsuccessful attempts which have been made to trace your employer or their insurers. These efforts should include an attempt to trace the insurers via the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, which holds historic insurance policy records
• The details of any previous claims made
• A witness statement

Armed Forces

There are special provisions for members or ex-members of the armed forces making mesothelioma compensation claims. Historically, asbestos was widely used across the armed forces, and if your mesothelioma dates from exposure to asbestos during your time in the armed forces you should be able to claim compensation.

If the exposure to asbestos which led to you developing mesothelioma happened before 1987 then you will not be legally entitled to make a civil claim for compensation. That’s because, prior to 1987, Crown Immunity meant that veterans were not able to sue the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

From 2016, veterans in the position of being unable to launch a mesothelioma compensation claim have been able to choose between receiving a traditional War Pension, or a lump sum payment of £140,000. If you developed mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos during your time in the armed forces, please contact us and we’ll explain which course of action is best suited to your situation.

How Much Compensation Could You Receive?

The question of how much compensation you could receive for a successful mesothelioma compensation claim is one which we can answer in detail when we have the full details of your case. The amount of any award will consist of general damages and special damages

General damages are intended, in the first instance, to reflect the pain, suffering and distress that have been caused by your mesothelioma. When estimating what this amount is likely to be we call upon our experience and expertise in the field of mesothelioma compensation claims.

We will also refer to a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This sets out the recommended compensation ranges for every type of personal injury, including mesothelioma compensation claims. In the latest edition, the range recommended for mesothelioma was £78,000 to £140,000.

The exact figure will depend upon factors such as your age, the severity of the symptoms and the prognosis for the future. In addition to recognising the severity of your illness, general damages are intended to compensate for what is called ‘loss of amenity’.

Loss of amenity refers to the fact that your mesothelioma stops you doing things – such as hobbies or other leisure activities – which you used to be able to do.

On top of the general damages awarded, your mesothelioma compensation will consist of special damages.

Special damages are an amount of compensation designed to ensure that developing mesothelioma doesn’t result in you being financially worse off than you would have been, had you nor developed it. It is calculated on the basis of expenses and lost earnings which can be directly linked to your mesothelioma.

Amounts which might be included in special damages as part of a mesothelioma compensation claim include:

• Earnings which have been lost due to mesothelioma. This could be because you were unable to work due to ill health, had to cut the number of hours worked, or had to change to another job that was less well paid
• The loss of pension provision, perhaps because you had to retire earlier than intended from your job due to the health problems caused by mesothelioma
• The money you have to spend on medical aids and other equipment to help you live with your mesothelioma. This might include mobility aids such as a wheelchair or mobility scooter, or specialty adapted sleeping arrangements
• The money you have to spend on making practical adjustments to your home because of mesothelioma. Breathing difficulties could mean you need help getting up and down the stairs via a stair lift, for example, or have to have downstairs bathroom facilities installed
• Any money you have to spend on physical therapy or counselling
• Any money you have to spend on medical treatment for your mesothelioma, including prescription charges
• Miscellaneous expenses directly linked to your mesothelioma, such as the cost of travelling to and from medical appointments
• Any money you have to spend on the provision of care because of your mesothelioma.

You should also keep a careful record of any care provided free of charge by friends or family, as this can have an impact on the special damages portion of a compensation payment.

When handling a mesothelioma compensation claim we will explain exactly what expenses you can include in the claim We will also advise you to keep all receipts for anything you spend which is linked to your mesothelioma, taking photographs as a back-up in case the hard copies are lost.

The Claims Process Explained

A mesothelioma compensation claim can seem like a daunting process to embark upon. The fact that the exposure to asbestos dust which is the basis of any mesothelioma negligence claim will have taken place as long as 20 to 30 years ago makes these claims more complex than most industrial illness claims.

We are experts in handling claims of this nature, however, and if you contact us after receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis we’ll explain exactly how the process works. We understand how upsetting and stressful it can be to be given a diagnosis of mesothelioma, and treat our clients with empathy and understanding.

We break the claims process down into more manageable individual steps, guiding you through those steps using clear, jargon free language, and being available for advice and support whenever you need it.

The time limit for making a mesothelioma claim is 3 years from the date upon which you knew you were suffering from mesothelioma, and that it was linked to your exposure to asbestos. In most circumstances this would usually be your date of diagnosis. The court may grant an extension to this limit in certain circumstances, but you should seek expert legal advice before seeking any extension.

Step 1 – After your first contact with us we’ll provide a free consultation. We’ll use this time to take the details of your case, including the diagnosis of mesothelioma which you’ve received and the current prognosis for your future health and well-being.

We’ll also make initial enquiries regarding your employment history, and explain whether we think you have strong case for mesothelioma compensation. We’ve handled many mesothelioma claims in the past, so there’s a good chance we’ll be able to pinpoint where in you employment history you were likely to have been exposed to asbestos dust.

Step 2 – We’ll start to build the evidence for your compensation claim by taking a statement from you. This statement will include:

• The detail of your diagnosis and the results of the tests you had.
• The symptoms of mesothelioma affecting you, how severe they are and the impact they have on your life.
• The details of your employment history. There’s no problem if you can’t remember all of the details as we contact HMRC for your full work history. Examining this history and using our knowledge of the causes of mesothelioma and how long it takes to become symptomatic, we should be able to identify where and when the exposure to asbestos took place.

If you have the names and/or contact details of any of the people you worked with at the time of your exposure to asbestos we will try to gather witness accounts from them of the working conditions at the time

Step 3 – We’ll arrange a medical examination for you with a specialist in the field of asbestos related conditions such as mesothelioma. This expert will be able to produce a detailed medico-legal report on your mesothelioma, including the severity of your symptoms and the impact it is likely to have in the future.

This report could, if needed, be presented as part of your compensation claim in a court.
In some mesothelioma compensation claims the other party – i.e. your employer or their insurer – may also ask you to undergo a medical examination with their own expert.

Medical examinations of this kind will help to establish how far advanced your mesothelioma is and the impact it will have on your quality of life in the future – up to and including shortening your life-span. All of this could have an impact on the amount of compensation you receive and, in some cases, on the speed with which your claim is processed.

In addition to these medical examinations we will access, with your consent, the rest of your medical records. These will help us to track the development of your mesothelioma and may make it easier to pin-point exactly when your exposure to asbestos was likely to have taken place.

Step 4 – We will contact the employer whose negligence caused your exposure to asbestos with what is called a letter of claim. This will inform them that you are making a claim on the basis of the fact that your mesothelioma was caused by their negligence.

If the employer in question has ceased to trade we will try to trace the insurer they took out their Employer’s Liability insurance with. This is a form of insurance that every UK employer has been legally obliged to carry since 1969.

If neither an employer nor an insurer can be traced then the route to claiming compensation will shift. In this case we will advise you on how to claim compensation through the government’s Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS).

Step 5 – Having pulled together the evidence in support of your mesothelioma claim we will be able to calculate the amount of compensation which we think you will receive if your claim is successful. Our experience of mesothelioma claims will enable us to gauge what we think you’ll receive in general damages and special damages.

General damages – this is an amount calculated on the basis of the pain and suffering your mesothelioma has caused, as well as the degree to which it has affected your life.

Special damages – this is an amount of compensation designed to reimburse you directly for the financial impact the mesothelioma has had. The aim of special damages is to return you to the financial condition you would have been in if you had never developed mesothelioma.

Special damages could include any expenses which are directly linked to your mesothelioma. Expenses of this kind might include the following:

• Earnings or pension provision you have lost, and the impact on your future earning power
• The money you’ve had to spend on medical treatments because of your mesothelioma, including prescription charges and expected future costs
• The cost of any care you have to buy-in as a result of your mesothelioma
• The cost of any specialist medical equipment or mobility aids you need to use because of the impact of your mesothelioma
• Any money you have to spend on making adaptations to your living space or vehicles due to your mesothelioma

As well as keeping receipts for everything you have to spend which is linked to your mesothelioma, you should note the time any friends or members of your family spend helping to care for you, as this could impact the special damages calculation.

Step 6 – in many mesothelioma compensation claims the employer or insurers will admit liability immediately and offer to pay compensation. Our experience of handling mesothelioma claims means that we will be able to explain whether the compensation they are offering is fair or not.

If the offer isn’t fair, we’ll carry on negotiating on the basis of your claim. If the offer doesn’t improve, or if your employer or their insurer denies liability, the case may have to be settled in court.

If this happens we will represent you in court and do everything we can to win the kind of compensation you deserve. Mesothelioma is a terminal illness and this means that we can use the existing fast track procedure for asbestos claims to speed things up if your claim does go to court.

Mesothelioma Claims After a Death

You can make a claim for mesothelioma compensation following the death of a loved one. The fact that mesothelioma takes as long as 20 or 30 years to develop, and is an aggressive form of cancer, means that many people don’t have the chance to launch a compensation claim while still alive, or sadly die before any claim is completed.

According to research published by Cancer Research in 2019, 60% of people dying of mesothelioma in the UK were aged over 75. These people were husbands, wives, parents and grandparents, and the people they leave behind have a right to seek compensation for what their loved one was put through.

The death of a loved one from mesothelioma is clearly a stressful and deeply upsetting experience. If you contact Wolferstans we’ll explain how the compensation process works in such cases and handle any claim you make in a sensitive and empathetic manner.

Who can make a claim after a death?

If the person who died of mesothelioma had written a will then the executor named in that will can take over any existing compensation claim, or start a claim on behalf of the estate of the deceased. If no will was written, then a next of kin can apply for Letters of Administration, which will enable them to continue or start a compensation claim.

When a person dies of mesothelioma the Coroner needs to be informed. This normally happens as a matter of course, but if it doesn’t you should make sure that they have been informed.

In some cases a Post Mortem will be needed to establish the cause of death, and any samples taken need to be retained until the claim has been completed. If mesothelioma hadn’t been diagnosed during the life of a loved one, then a post-mortem diagnosis will be a vital part of any successful compensation claim.

The people who can start a mesothelioma compensation claim after death are the following:

• A spouse of the deceased
• A civil partner of the deceased
• A child or other financial dependant of the deceased

The executor named in a will written by the deceased

As with other mesothelioma compensation claims, there are time limits in place on mesothelioma claims after death. In these cases a limit of three years runs from the date of the death of your loved one, or the date upon which you became aware that they died of mesothelioma.

If you feel that the death of your loved one from mesothelioma happened because an employer of theirs was negligent then you can make a claim for compensation for the following things:

• The pain and suffering of your loved one due to mesothelioma
• Financial losses and expenses accrued as a direct result of your loved one having mesothelioma
• The loss of financial support in the future for the dependants of the deceased

Evidence for a mesothelioma claim after death

If you decide to make a mesothelioma claim after the death of a loved one, we will help you to bring together the evidence needed to make that claim as strong as possible. This evidence should include:

• Medical records relating to any diagnosis of mesothelioma, as well as the treatment history and palliative care needed
• The employment history of the deceased, including job titles, dates of employment and places where they worked
• Witness statements from colleagues who worked with the deceased and who can confirm working conditions, as well as from family members who can outline the impact the illness had
• Other documentation which may help when making a compensation claim includes details of pensions, bank accounts, payslips, photographs and personal diaries.

In simple terms, anything which is relevant to the working life of the deceased, the impact mesothelioma had on them, and money which had to be spent due to the illness, should be included as part of any claim. In addition, anything which demonstrates the financial support the deceased provided for their dependants should also be preserved.

Mesothelioma compensation claims are often complex, due to the slowly developing nature of the illness and the challenge of tracing past employers or insurers. The team at Wolferstans have a strong track record of helping clients to claim the compensation they deserve after losing a loved one due to the negligence of an employer.

Costs of Making a Mesothelioma Claim

In simple terms, there are no up-front costs involved in making a mesothelioma compensation claim, and if your claim is successful then you’ll be able to keep 100% of the compensation you receive.

We handle mesothelioma compensation claims on a no win, no fee basis, which means that you won’t have to pay anything to us when you start your claim, or through the process of gathering evidence and putting the claim together. The other important aspect of a mesothelioma no win, no fee claim is that if you are awarded compensation then you keep every penny of the general and special damages awarded.

In mesothelioma compensation claims the legal fees for all the work we do are covered by the other party in the claim. In the rare instance of a mesothelioma claim being unsuccessful, any costs involved will be covered by After The Event (ATE) insurance taken out at the start of the process.

Why Choose Wolferstans Solicitors?

Choosing Wolferstans to make your mesothelioma compensation claim means working with experts in the field. We can point to a track record of dealing with the most complex mesothelioma claims, seeking compensation for people coping with a life-limiting disease and for those who have recently lost a loved one.

In all cases we handle clients in a sensitive and empathetic manner. We understand how stressful coping with an illness like mesothelioma can be, and how delving into the past to build a compensation claim could add to that stress.

Our understanding of that stress underpins our working methods. We provide support throughout the claims process in a transparent and open manner, keeping clients fully informed of the progress of their claim in jargon free and easily understood language.

We work through each mesothelioma compensation claim in a careful step by step manner, building the strongest possible case and using our experience to determine how much compensation you are entitled to. We’re used to dealing with the difficult issues often thrown up, such as an employer having ceased trading, or an insurance policy being difficult to trace.

No matter how complex your mesothelioma compensation claim is, we’ll do everything in our power to get you the compensation you are entitled to. Wolferstans is Lexcel accredited by the Law Society, reflecting the excellence of our practice management and client care.

Contact us today if you’ve had a mesothelioma diagnosis and we’ll explain whether you are entitled to compensation and how we’ll go about making a successful claim.