As part of the #MoveForMeso campaign the team are on the virtual home straight heading to Bristol and edging closer to the virtual finishing line at their head quarters in Cardiff. As the team visit Bristol, we look at a successful claim for Mr G who suffered his exposure in the Bristol area.
Mr G was diagnosed with asbestosis in June 2018 after suffering asbestos exposure throughout the 1960s and 1970s with various previous employers.
Mr G worked for Bristol Council in the maintenance department firstly between 1965 and 1967 and secondly between 1969 – 1970. Mr G was required to remove and replace asbestos ceiling tiles. When the old asbestos ceiling tiles broke up, they became fibrous and generated a dust.
Mr G also had to cut new asbestos ceiling panels to size using an electric saw while also removing and replacing the soffits from council houses which were made of asbestos sheets.
He also had to remove old corrugated asbestos ‘Big 6’ sheets from outbuilding and scrape off artex from the roofs and re-plaster with new artex.
Mr G worked for the second Defendant Bristol Rigging and Scaling in the 1970s, at the ICI Plant near Avonmouth where he would strip and demolish old pipework, gutters, vehicles and boilers for scrap metal, by hand.
Mr G contacted the specialist asbestos team at Hugh James to investigate a potential claim for damages. A witness statement was obtained detailing Mr G’s work history and exposure to asbestos and a claim initiated against his previous employers.
Court proceedings were issued and liability was heavily disputed. As such court permission was given for all parties to obtain expert engineering evidence.
Engineering evidence was obtained in support of the claim and noted that Mr G’s asbestos exposure was in excess of the required level known as the ‘Helsinki Criteria’.
Further apportionment between the parties was also in dispute and the claim was listed for trial in October 2020.
An out of court settlement was obtained in August 2018 providing Mr G with financial compensation to include sums for future care.
