Industrial Disease Compensation Claim Wins

Trevor Wilkinson Mesothelioma Claim

Trevor Wilkinson was only 60 years of age when he died on 10 April 2006.

He was in the prime of his life. He was a motorcycle enthusiast as was his wife Carol but he was cruelly struck down by asbestos related mesothelioma. He had worked as a painter and decorator for several firms including John Lee and Sons and his job involved rubbing down asbestos lagged pipes to prepare them for painting. He worked in all sorts of industrial premises, educational institutions and hospitals.

Mesothelioma is increasingly claiming the lives of people in occupations outside the traditional heavy industries and there are more and more painters and decorators being affected. His widows compensation claim has now been settled by Pannone for £225,000.

Christopher Farrell Industrial Disease Case Study

Christopher Farrell died in June 2005 from the awful asbestos related cancer, Mesothelioma. His wife, Christine, was left to fight his case for compensation against Oldham Brewery - but there were hurdles all along the way.

Christopher Farrell had been a self employed electrician and Oldham Brewery denied that they had any responsibility to protect him from asbestos dust. He was not their employee and, therefore, they said they had no obligation to protect him. Furthermore, they said that there was no asbestos in the brewery by the time he started working there. They said it had all been removed and produced witnesses to that effect. They were unable to produce the documents that would prove when the asbestos had been removed from the brewery but Pauline Chandler, the solicitor pursuing the claim for Mrs Farrell, managed to locate some minutes of Oldham Brewery Directors' Meetings for the time when the deceased had been employed there, which helped to establish that there was still asbestos in the brewery and that the defendant's witnesses were mistaken in their recollections.

That did not stop the brewery from defending the action all the way to court where they finally settled the case for £200,000 in addition to benefits and Workers Compensation Act payment but that was not the end of the matter. Oldham Brewery had been acquired by a number of companies over the years and the one which agreed to settle the claim, De Vere group, had a change of heart after the settlement. It then took another 8 months and a lot of heartache for Mrs Farrell before they were finally persuaded to pay up.

David Doyle Mesothelioma Claim

David Doyle was an active 67 year old when he died of mesothelioma in 2006. He had taken up horse riding and bought a jet ski and he loved fast cars, steam trains and boats. He was looking forward to an adventurous retirement.

This granddad of six was also renowned for his annual appearance as Santa Claus at Worth Primary school but his life was cruelly shortened by his exposure to asbestos whilst employed by Albert Locke (1940) Limited of Hale Barns. He had been employed by them as a joiner from 1965-72. He cut asbestos soffits, garage roof linings, fire doors and asbestos canopies for estates all over the Greater Manchester Area.

The family first made contact with Pannone when they responded to a newspaper article in which Joan Wightman pleaded for help about the employers liability insurance position of A. Temple Somerville. Her husband had been employed by that firm and had died of mesothelioma. David Doyle's family knew that he had worked with Mr Wightman for a few months at A. Temple Somerville so they replied to the plea and realised that they too should consider claiming compensation for their loss, but their claim was made against Albert Locke (1940) Limited.

Jean Doyles case has now settled for £119,000 including some government payments which will have to be repaid but had it not been been for the newspaper article about Mrs Wightman's plight she might never have realised she could claim.

Ken Wightman Asbestos-related Illness Claim

Ken Wightman was aged just 53 when he died from the asbestos related illness mesothelioma. He worked for A Temple Somerville between 1962 and 1968 as a plumber removing and replacing asbestos lagging on boilers and pipework.

When he died in 2002 A. Temple Somerville had ceased to trade and finding the relevant insurers for the 1960s proved very difficult. Evidence was obtained from two directors that it was Legal & General (now AXA), but without documentary proof they would not accept responsibility. These complications proved challenging but compensation was eventually awarded to his widow Joan Wightman.

Pannone partner Pauline Chandler successfully sued A. Temple Somerville and judgment was obtained for over £150,000 gross. The insurers still refused to pay, saying "we cannot rely upon the vagaries of memory... the onus is upon those who say we have an involvement to supply evidence". Many more investigations were carried out and newspaper articles were published pleading for help. Members of the public replied with helpful information and eventually an application was made for disclosure of various documents from AXA in anticipation of suing them under the Third Parties Rights Against Insurers Act.

At 5.00pm the day before the application hearing, AXA finally capitulated even though they still could not find any documentary proof of having insured A. Temple Somerville. That was more than six years after the claim started and more than eighteen months after judgment was obtained.

Ronald Brown Wins Compensation for Asbestos-Related Mesothelioma

Hazel Brown from Wakefield and Ronald Brown from Thornton emigrated from England in 1966 to build a better life for themselves and their two boys in Australia. Little did they then know that Ronald's employment with British Belting & Asbestos Limited in England between 1954 and 1962 would come back to haunt them with the deadly disease of asbestos related mesothelioma. Ronald Brown died of it on 16th October 2006 aged 78.

His job at the Scandura Mill in Cleckheaton was as a machine operator. The company manufactured brake linings for cars and aeroplanes and also made continuous belting systems, all of which contained asbestos. He worked on the carding and lagging machines, all of which produced lots of dust and the only mask he was ever provided with was a cotton Martindale one. He described how the air in the mill often appeared like snow because there were so many dust particles falling everywhere.

Although he was still living in Australia when he developed the disease, he was able to bring an action in England but unfortunately died before it concluded.

Shortly before trial, the defendants offered £96,000 which Mrs Brown was pleased to accept, but by that stage, she had already had to sell her matrimonial home because without her husband's pension contribution, she had been unable to continue to afford it.

John Whitworth Asbestos-related Cancer

Pauline Chandler helped a widow whose husband died from asbestos related cancer recoup over £100,000 in compensation, after two other law firms failed in their efforts to help her because they could not prove who the insurers were.

Maureen Whitworth from Ashton-Under-Lyne had given up all hope of ever recovering compensation for her husband John's death from mesothelioma. He died aged 66 in April 2001 because he developed mesothelioma from coming into contact with asbestos dust caused by machining asbestos sheets with a circular saw at the premises of Ashton based building materials suppliers, Atlas Trading Group Limited. The company which actually employed him was, Atlas Trading (Sales) Limited, which by the time the claim was no longer trading. The directors believed that their insurance had been taken out through the Royal & Sun Alliance during the years when John had been employed there, but the RSA would not accept that they were on cover without positive proof in the form of a policy document or number. The directors were unable to produce this.

Maureen came to Pannone in May 2005 and although the RSA were still disputing that they had any responsibility to pay compensation in this case, Pannone pursued Atlas Trading (Sales) Limited through the courts and obtained a judgment against them for £85,634. That was in November 2006 but it looked as though it was going to be a hollow victory because Atlas Trading (Sales) Limited no longer existed and therefore had no money to pay the compensation and the RSA still refused to accept that they were on cover.

71 year old Maureen almost gave up but Pauline Chandler, her solicitor at Pannone, didn't. Statements were obtained from the directors about their recollections in relation to the insurance position and a decision was finally taken to sue the RSA under the Third Parties' (Rights Against Insurers) Act. Commenting she said, "Just as proceedings were ready to be issued against them, the RSA capitulated and decided to pay up after all. Because interest has been running on the judgment debt at 8% from November 2006, this means that Mrs Whitworth has now recovered £102,233 and she and her family are absolutely delighted, relieved and, to some extent, surprised."

Call 0800 0384 384 now for a consultation with a Pannone Industrial Disease Solicitor or Lawyer or send an email. We are available to take your call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.