Asbestos Compensation: Mesothelioma, Asbestosis, Asbestos Claims

Asbestos compensation claims specialists

Mesothelioma, asbestosis and other asbestos claims:
Long track record of success for UK & worldwide clients

Mesothelioma compensation: asbestos exposure legal claims, for mesothelioma and asbestosis conditions, by independent specialist solicitors with a very long track record of success getting clients proper compensation.

Solicitors here pursue compensation claims for mesothelioma and asbestos disease for clients in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, China, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Germany & elsewhere, as well as throughout the UK.

IMPORTANT ASBESTOS COMPENSATION RULING 28.03.12

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that: It is the employer�s liability insurance policy in place at the time the worker was exposed to the asbestos that triggers pay out of compensation to mesothelioma victims. As a result:

� Years of confusion over this issue now clarified.
� Success for sufferers and their families.
� Defeat for insurance companies seeking to avoid their obligations.
� Those sufferers employed by defunct employers can still claim.

Contact Peter Montgomery for more information.

Use our INTERACTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE to start your claim. Click HERE for some of the companies whose insurers have paid our clients compensation.

�Humphreys & Co. has a prominent industrial disease and injury unit. The �outstanding� Peter Montgomery is a leading specialist, and is hugely knowledgeable about asbestos-related matters; he is �very professional� and �compassionate�, and provides service �of the highest order�.�

Legal 500 2011/12

Asbestos exposure: recently settled claims

Disease	Gross damages	Date settled
Asbestos related lung cancer	�104,392	23.11.2011
Pleural thickening	�35,000	10.11.2011
Mesothelioma	�115,000	04.11.2011
Asbestosis	�55,000	02.11.2011
Mesothelioma	�150,000	01.11.2011
Mesothelioma	�150,000	04.10.2011
Mesothelioma	�92,000	27.09.2011
Mesothelioma	�83,904	14.09.2011
Mesothelioma	�165,000	24.08.2011
Mesothelioma	�154,570	19.07.2011
Mesothelioma	�350,000	15.07.2011
Pleural thickening	�27,000	14.07.2011
Mesothelioma	�69,542	08.07.2011
Asbestosis	�18,000	30.06.2011
Mesothelioma	�235,000	28.06.2011
Mesothelioma	�147,500	28.06.2011
Asbestosis	�22,500	28.06.2011
Mesothelioma	�127,500	24.06.2011
Mesothelioma	�129,000	05.04.2011
Mesothelioma	�150,000	28.03.2011
Pleural thickening	�20,000	25.03.2011
Mesothelioma	�126,278	23.03.2011
Mesothelioma	�225,000	15.03.2011
Mesothelioma	�205,000	11.03.2011
Mesothelioma	�267,500	09.03.2011
Mesothelioma	�120,000	15.02.2011
Mesothelioma	�140,000	08.02.2011
Mesothelioma	�215,000	07.02.2011
Mesothelioma	�170,000	04.02.2011
Asbestosis	�85,000	03.02.2011
Mesothelioma & asbestos related lung cancer	�120,000	20.01.2011
Mesothelioma	�230,000	20.01.2011
Mesothelioma	�130,000	10.01.2011
Mesothelioma	�163,831	30.11.2010
Mesothelioma	�142,500	30.11.2010
Total recovered for claimant clients	�4,741,017	12 months

The extensive use made of asbestos in the construction and manufacturing industries over the last 150 years has caused harm to many workers exposed to asbestos fibres.

We will continue to see the effects of this for years to come, with the number of people suffering and dying from exposure to airborne asbestos fibres not expected to peak for at least another decade.

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness there is no need for your situation to be worsened with financial hardship.

Talk through your situation at no cost with somebody at partner level today. We have decades of experience of winning settlements from major employers on behalf of our claimant clients.

We have genuine specialist expertise on our team, as evidenced by accreditation from the specialist Law Society Personal Injury Panel.

We can advise you as to how your personal circumstances might be improved with claims for certain state benefits and an action for asbestos compensation.

We will strive to take your case on a no win no fee basis, so that you will not need to pay us a legal fee under any circumstances.

Humphreys & Co. are pleased to support the North Bristol NHS Trust Mesothelioma Research Fund and the Avon Mesothelioma Foundation.

Claims for asbestos-related disease: at a glance

We have an experienced personal injury team that specialises almost exclusively in claims for compensation arising from asbestos-related disease. We are geared up to act quickly in cases where the circumstances require this and are very familiar with representing clients in the UK and worldwide.

The dangers of asbestos dust and fibres have been well documented for many years and employees who have been exposed without protection may go on to develop asbestos-related conditions, many years after the period of exposure. Under English law employers owe a duty of care to their employees not to expose them unlawfully to asbestos dust.

If it can be proved on the balance of probabilities that unlawful exposure to asbestos fibres occurred at the work place and has caused the asbestos related illness complained of then the courts will award compensation (damages) against the employer.

Claims for compensation can be made in the English civil courts (in which case representation by a specialist solicitor is highly recommended) and state benefits may also be payable (without having to prove fault or sue a former employer). We can advise about how to make either type of claim.

There are two types of compensation awarded by the court: general damages (to compensate for pain suffering and loss of amenity caused by the asbestos related illness) and special damages (to compensate for all the specific financial losses both past and future which arise as a result of the illness and which are reasonably foreseeable).

The court also has the power to award provisional damages when it is more likely than not that there is a chance that at some time in the future there will be a serious deterioration of the asbestos related disease. For example if the claim is for damages for pleural thickening you can be compensated for that illness but should the disease worsen into asbestosis or mesothelioma or asbestos related lung cancer you may be able to go back to court for further compensation.

There is usually a long latency period between first exposure to asbestos dust and the onset of symptoms of asbestos related disease. This period is on average 30-40 years but there is no upper limit.

We can obtain your employment history from HM Revenue & Customs from 1961 onwards. This will reveal the exact name of your employers if you are having difficulty remembering all of your past employments. This will also assist in locating the correct �paymaster�.

Where a company has been dissolved it can, in certain circumstances, still be restored to the companies register. Alternatively it may be possible to locate the employer's liability (EL) insurers for a dissolved company or where a former employer has ceased trading.

NO WIN NO FEE is available

Our clients keep 100% of their damages with no deductions

Asbestos frequently asked questions

What is mesothelioma?
This is a malignant condition of the pleura. The main symptoms are shortness of breath, chest pain and weight loss, and there is often a pleural effusion apparent on chest x-rays. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by a biopsy of the pleura with immunohistochemistry staining. Mesothelioma can be caused by minimal asbestos exposure, and the latency period between exposure and symptoms is on average 30 to 40 years.

What is asbestosis?
This is a type of fibrosis affecting the lung. Asbestosis can cause breathlessness and a cough. It is usually caused by relatively heavy asbestos exposure. Asbestosis and pleural plaques or thickening may occur together. There are differing degrees of asbestosis. The disease can degenerate although this is not inevitable.

What are pleural plaques?
These are areas of inflammation which affect the pleura. Minor asbestos exposure can still result in pleural plaques. Plaques do not generally cause pain or breathlessness and can be asymptomatic although their presence can cause anxiety.

What is pleural thickening?
These are similar to pleural plaques but they affect more of the pleura. Pleural thickening may cause breathlessness and/or chest tightness. It is normally caused by heavy asbestos-exposure.

What is asbestos-related lung cancer?
Lung tumours are normally seen in those who have been heavily exposed to asbestos dust and who may be heavy smokers as well. The symptoms are: prolonged period of coughing, occasionally blood in the sputum, lack of appetite and weight loss.

Clients for whom solicitors in our specialist unit have conducted successful claims for compensation for asbestosis and mesothelioma conditions suffered from exposure to airborne asbestos fibres include claimants from a wide range of occupations including:

Telephone engineers
Heating engineers
Lab technicians
Laggers
Carpenters
Dockers
Non-asbestos factory employees
Asbestos factory employees
Construction workers
HM Dockyard workers
Marine engineers

Plumbers
Merchant navy cadets
Merchant navy deck officers
Refractory bricklayers in power stations
Power station workers
Aerospace workers
Window fitters
General builders
Insulation engineers
Boilermen
Fitters

SUPPORT FOR CLAIMANTS: Mesothelioma Claimants with Low Exposure to Asbestos Succeed

The Supreme Court rules in favour of mesothelioma claimants � 9th March 2011 in the cases of:

Sienkiewicz -v- Greif ; Willmore -v- Knowsley 2011 UKSC10.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of mesothelioma claimants who suffered low levels of asbestos exposure.

Now in order to succeed on the issue of causation a mesothelioma claimant only needs to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that his or her exposure to asbestos dust was more than minimal and, if so, it will satisfy the Fairchild Test that such exposure �made a material contribution to the risk� that the claimant would develop mesothelioma.

The defendants who had exposed the claimants to asbestos dust advanced arguments in their appeal that claimants could only succeed if the level of asbestos exposure was double the background or ambient levels of exposure and that the claimant still had to prove that �but for� such exposure the claimants would not have gone on to develop mesothelioma. The Supreme Court rejected these arguments and held that:

1. The exposure to asbestos dust need only make a material contribution to the risk of developing mesothelioma even where there is only one negligent employer.

2. The material contribution test set out in section 3 of the Compensation Act 2006 applies to all mesothelioma claims, not only to cases where there are multiple negligent employers.

The result of this case will be that more claimants are likely to succeed in their claims event though the asbestos exposure would be regarded as slight or low providing that such exposure made a material contribution to the risk that mesothelioma would develop.

Some of our client feedback:

"I cannot find words to express my thanks for everything you have done for us. We would both like you to know how grateful we are for the way in which you have conducted our case. You have brought it to a satisfactory conclusion in such a short time and have made it easier than we ever thought possible."

"We would both like to say thanks for all your help, support and compassion in dealing with the case. You made the process very easy for us and we appreciate your kindness."

"Thank you for your speedy work on behalf of T... I am very happy that you have contributed to him having an easier passage during this traumatic time." (Client from Queensland exposed to asbestos in Watford)

""For my part I am so grateful that you answered my SOS in the beginning. You carried me through the most difficult time of my life and I will always remember your support and belief."

"Thank you for all your help... You have been very patient with me... I hope that you will be as successful with other claimants."

"It is a great relief that there should be such a satisfactory outcome and without going to trial. This is in no small way due to the excellent way in which you have handled the case."

"May I say how impressed we are with the way you have dealt with us. Everything seems to be carried out so fast and with such clarity."

"Thank you so very much for all that you have done, right from that very first phone call you made to me at 11pm at night when we were all so desperately sad about my Dad's news- you were so very kind. Thank you. There are no words to say how much we appreciate what you have done for us." (Auckland, New Zealand)

"Thank you for explaining the process to us. I cannot believe we have gotten to this stage, you have been wonderful and we appreciate your work on Dad's behalf and are very grateful for your constant communication keeping us updated at every step of the way." (Republic of Ireland)

"I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for us... your speed and efficiency... We have always felt you have dealt with us in a kind and considerate manner."

"Thank you both very much for all the good work that you have done on my behalf. It has been an absolute pleasure to deal with such wonderful people. I feel I will be sadly lacking if I were not to express my gratitude, not just for your quite apparent professional knowledge of cases such as mine but for the extra mile you both were prepared to go to ensure my peace of mind." (Cape Town, South Africa)

No surprises and no hidden costs with our qualified solicitors

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