Asbestos lung cancer claim win by Corries for lagger turned down by other lawyers
An asbestos lagger’s family have won significant compensation following Corries determined efforts. We have won an asbestos lung cancer case that had been turned down by other national asbestos lawyers.
Read here about how Corries Asbestos Team went the extra mile to secure compensation other solicitors would not chase.
Asbestos Cancer – the case facts
Our client Mrs M contacted us after the death of her husband. He had worked as a lagger’s mate for two years in the 1960’s with a well known asbestos lagging company.
From the 1990’s onwards Mr M had been having problems with his chest. At various times he saw doctors who confirmed both pleural plaques and then at a later time confirmed pleural thickening.
In October 2015 Mr M started to suffer pains and breathing problems in his chest. Investigations were made and shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His condition rapidly went downhill and he died in February 2016. His death certificate recorded his death due to lung cancer
During this period of illness and then death he investigated his case with a firm of solicitors who advertise nationally.
They had drafted a statement of exposure and got his seven volumes of medical records together. In this work they found entries confirming his references with the doctors for both pleural plaques and pleural thickening at various times between 1998 to 2013.
They considered that the case was out of time under tight rules of LIMITATION. This allows a person in a personal injury claim to issue proceedings within three years of a diagnosis or knowledge of an injury or disease.
The first lawyers turned the case down. It seemed Mrs M would not get justice.
Asbestos case- Corries enter the picture
Mrs M was not satisfied with this. In time she saw Corries advertisement in the media and contacted us.
We thought that there was more to the tale and asked for the file of papers. Corries offer a FREE second opinion service so Mrs M had nothing to lose.
We went through the huge file of papers. Our view was that the previous solicitors had simply got this wrong. We have taken numerous cases on from other lawyers and won them as can be seen herehttps://www.corries.co.uk/second-chance-for-asbestos-victim-as-corries-win-30000-in-case-turned-down-by-other-solicitor/
Our team got to work in picking up the case.
Asbestos Lung Cancer -what steps did we take?
Corries rely on strong teamwork and using the best people to get good results.
Our lawyers checked that all the witness evidence was properly assessed. We went through the way the doctors spoke to the deceased and his family over the years. We put this together in a robust statement.
We then approached a barrister who agreed with us on the limitation point. He agreed that even if the case was out of time then we could argue that the lung cancer that grew in 2015 was a new and separate condition of its own. We both felt that the defendants would not be handicapped or prejudiced as they faced claims for similar exposure all the time.
Asbestos lung cancer – the medical perspective
Even though we had got over this first hurdle we still needed strong medical evidence to prove the claim.
We got to work instructing a nationally renowned pathologist to confirm the amount of the asbestos in the lungs. He confirmed that the asbestos has caused or contributed to the tumour.
We then got a respiratory doctor to supplement this and report about the affect on his life in the last few months and how much life had been lost due to this premature death.
Asbestos lung cancer- the steps to settlement
We gathered together all the information we needed to value the case.
This was all then presented to the defendant.
Within a few weeks the defendants made an offer in settlement very close to our own valuation. Mrs M has been advised and accepted the offer.
Our Comment
Asbestos-related claims, particularly for lung cancer are very difficult. A modest amount of these cases actually succeed.
Many solicitors (even from larger firms) may turn down cases for asbestos lung cancer because they are too medically complex or they are not confident of success.
Corries solicitor Charlie Bradley who won the case commented
I hate to see any asbestos victim losing out on compensation. I felt particular sympathy with Mrs M and I was very keen to win her flight for justice.
This was a real team effort with my manager Howard Bonnett and I along with a barrister and two leading medical experts helped to bring the case. We were able to present it in very clear and robust terms to the defendants.
I would commend them for sensibly realising that they were “on the hook” for this case and for making an offer at an appropriate level. I wish more companies would do the same as it would save costs and avoid adding further distress to grieving families.
Sadly we can do nothing to bring Mr M back. However the remainder of her life should be made more comfortable by the compensation I have secured.
Call us now to see if we can help
Corries are leading asbestos solicitors. No one tries hard to get compensation for you. Our team of dedicated lawyers do not turn cases down unless we are sure we cannot do anything for you. All cases are checked by two lawyers before being closed down.
Do you know anyone who has an asbestos case turned down in the last three years. If so we offer a FREE no obligation second review service. Give us a call for FREE on 0800 083 7839. It might be the best thing you ever did.