Asbestos Claims - Asbestos Solicitors Romford, Upminster, Brentwood
What is Asbestos and Why is it Dangerous?
The Need for Asbestos Compensation Claims
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibre that was widely used in construction and other industries until the late 1990s. Historically, before its dangers were known, asbestos was often used in buildings for insulation, flooring, roofing, and was sprayed on ceilings and walls. Its use is now banned in the UK, but buildings constructed before the year 2000 may still have asbestos in them.
Where asbestos buildings remain intact, it poses very little risk. It is when it’s damaged or disturbed that tiny asbestos fibres can be released into the air and thereafter enter into the lungs. Breathing in asbestos fibres can damage your lungs and their lining.
Thousands of skilled workers and labourers were exposed to asbestos throughout their working lives, often for prolonged periods of time. Secondary exposure has also been a widespread problem. This occurs when a family member or friend would come home after work covered in asbestos dust, bringing asbestos into the home on their work clothes.
Asbestos Solicitors and Legal Representation
The Role of Asbestos Solicitors and the Benefits of Working with Asbestos Lawyers
With over 30 years practical experience undertaking high value and complex personal injury claims, we will bring a professional and compassionate approach to your claim. We will support you and your family members throughout the claims process
If you, a family member or a friend has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, asbestosis or asbestos lung cancer we are here to help you
What Can I Claim for in an Asbestos Claim?
If you or a loved one are suffering from an asbestos related condition contact us now. We will take as much detail as possible from you in relation to your employer and will investigate their position. From 1972 all employers were required by law to have employers liability insurance, and many companies had insurance prior to this date. If the company is no longer trading we will look to trace their employer liability insurers as it will be the insurers who will pay any compensation to you.
Compensation awards to those suffering from mesothelioma or an asbestos related disease reflect a number of different issues.
In addition to compensation for pain and suffering caused by the illness itself other losses and expenses can be claimed, such as:
- loss of income
- loss of pension
- any items you need to purchase as a result of the disease, from aids around the home to different foods to mobility aids
- private treatment costs
- an amount to reflect the value of care provided by friends or family
- care fees paid to professionals
- any losses to other family members
- travelling expenses to hospital or medical appointments.
If someone you know has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease or mesothelioma, our skilled and compassionate solicitors are here to offer help with your claim. Use a local solicitor you can trust.
Diseases and Illnesses Caused by Asbestos Exposure
The symptoms of asbestos-related conditions take many years, even decades, to appear after the original exposure. In practical terms it means that a claimant who has asbestos related disease diagnosed in 2015 was probably exposed between 1975 and 1980 but the exposure could have been even earlier.
Exposure to asbestos can cause a range of illnesses, including:
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is often considered the most devastating of the asbestos-related diseases as there is no cure, and few victims survive more than 18 months after diagnosis. Symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath and general fatigue. Understand more about this disease here.
Asbestosis
Lung Cancer
Pleural Thickening and Other Conditions
Personal Injury Enquiry
Fill out the form and a member of our team will get in touch to discuss how we can help.
Eligibility for Asbestos Claims in the UK
Regulations for control of Asbestos. Asbestos at work regulations
Get in touch with us if you want to make an asbestos exposure compensation claim.
If you have no idea where you were exposed to asbestos, you may still claim compensation from the Government. If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma after July 25 2012 and are unable to trace the company where you were exposed to asbestos or the company’s insurer, you may be eligible to receive 80% of the value of the average civil compensation claim from a central fund.
Who Can Make an Asbestos Claim?
Asbestos-related diseases are not limited to workers but can also affect members of their families, who may have developed an asbestos-related disease or cancer as a result of being exposed to asbestos fibres on work clothes.
The time between exposure to asbestos and the occurrence of lung cancer is often 20 to 30 years or more but varies in every individual case. If the employer has gone out of business or is no longer operating, a claim for compensation can still be made against the insurance company which provided insurance at the time of the exposure
The Asbestos Claims Process
Initiating the Claim
If you have been diagnosed with an asbestosis related disease
To make a claim, you'll need to show that:
- You have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace or elsewhere; and
- Your employer/property owner was aware or should have been aware of the risks but failed to mitigate for them; and
- Your illness has been caused as a direct result of asbestos exposure.
The exposure could have been in a factory, in an office, at school, or in the home. At the time, the person who was exposed may not even have been aware that they were breathing in deadly asbestos fibres, because their employer didn’t tell them of the dangers of the dust they breathed in, and/or didn’t provide them with protective equipment, or there were no other means of reducing the amount of dust in the atmosphere such as extractor fans
Gathering Evidence and Documentation
Steps to making an asbestos claim
- We will take a detailed statement regarding a person’s exposure to asbestos
- We will search for the defendant. National Insurance records may help identify the correct company names as former employers going back as far as 1961.
- This can be used to trace companies still in existence.
- Where a company has ceased trading then we would use the employers liability tracing office to obtain details of previous insurance policies held by no longer trading companies
- medical records will be obtained
- once we've identified a defendant insurer a claim can be made for some at this point we would instruct specialist medical evidence to provide a report dealing with the asbestosis disease
- we will consider whether there is a need for care and assistance to be provided
- we may consider whether privately funded medical treatment is required
- We will prepare a schedule of loss
Negotiating with Insurers and Defendants
Once medical evidence is available we will submit a claim to the insurer. We often work with specialist barristers. In a majority of cases the defendant insurer will enter into negotiations however when that is does not occur we will consider bringing a court claim. Proceedings are commenced in specialist courts.
Asbestos Claims and Time Limits
The 3-Year Limitation Period
Legislation sets a three-year statutory time limit for making a personal injury claims. In claims for industrial disease compensation this will be usually be within 3 years of the date of the initial diagnosis.
Exceptions and Extensions
If you are claiming on behalf of a relative who died from an asbestos related disease before the expiration of the three years, you have three years from the date your relative passed away. However, due to the serious nature of asbestos diseases, especially mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer, there is a certain amount of flexibility, so it will be worth contacting us even if the diagnosis was many years ago.
Asbestos Claims and Government Compensation Schemes
There are various Government compensation schemes available and we are happy to advise on this.
Asbestos Claims and the Impact on UK Industries
The Legacy of Asbestos in Specific Sectors
Asbestos-related disease is caused by breathing in asbestos fibres, and often results in a scarring condition of the lung. People who have worked in industries where asbestos was heavily used particularly in 1970s to 1990’s, are more at risk from asbestos exposure.
These industries may include:
- shipyards
- construction sites
- boiler and engine rooms
- hospitals
- power stations
- boiler makers
- glass factories
Frequently Asked Questions about Asbestos claims:
Legislation sets a three-year statutory time limit for making a personal injury claims. In claims for industrial disease compensation this will be usually be within 3 years of the date of the initial diagnosis.
The insurers pay for asbestos claim.
It is both impossible and inappropriate to put a value on a life. The only remedy a court can provide is by the payment of compensation. There are number of bases under which a court can award compensation although not all are applicable in any case.
Assessment of compensation must always be a matter of individual assessment in each case, as every case is unique for stop diamonds can be obtained from previous cases which will enable an estimate we made the likely award if the matter had been decided by the court. Compensation will comprise an element to reflect the injury component, pain and suffering as well as a separate element for financial losses and expenses.
The amount you receive in compensation depends on the impact the asbestos exposure has had on your life.
A compensation claim for an asbestos related disease usually takes 12 months or less to complete but can take up to 18 months; however more complex cases that need greater evidence can take up to three years.
Asbestos-related diseases are not limited to workers but can also affect members of their families, who may have developed an asbestos-related disease or cancer as a result of being exposed to asbestos fibres on work clothes. You can make a claim for a loved one who has died from an asbestos-related disease.
Mullis & Peake have specialists in personal injury ready to help you. Contact us online today or call us on 01708 784000.
Alternatively, request a call back to have one of our team contact you at a time that suits.
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Holly is a Member and Head of Mullis and Peake’s Dispute Resolution Department
Martyn is our Chairman and the firms' Compliance Officer for Legal Practice
