Full admission of liability secured for Portsmouth labourer exposed at the Landport Drapery Bazaar

Eric, born in Portsmouth, left school aged 15 and, after several short-term jobs, began working in demolition for a local building firm, John Hunt Ltd, He was assigned to work on the Landport Drapery department store extension, basically knocking down walls and ripping out plasterboard.

He worked in confined spaces such as ceiling voids and particularly recalls ripping out lagged pipework.

The work was incredibly messy and he regularly had to clear away piles of building waste at the end of the day. He used a long-handled broom to sweep up the dust, plasterboard and other debris which he shovelled into a wheelbarrow. He also remembers clearing up old bits of lagged pipes removed from the boilers in the basement just with his hands.  

Over the next decade, Eric worked on various building projects in local schools around the Portsmouth and Gosport areas. He recalled his colleagues using Asbestolux sheets and that he would clear away the dust and Asbestolux offcuts. Eric left John Hunt after a decade and became self-employed.

In February 2023, Eric was out on a walk with his wife when he began to feel a tightening sensation in his chest which stopped him in his tracks. It was around this time that he had also developed a persistent cough. In April the same year, he began to feel breathless and felt as if he was drowning when he went to sleep at night.

He was admitted to hospital later that month and fluid was found in his lungs. A biopsy in July 2024 confirmed his mesothelioma. Eric and his wife were in total disbelief over his diagnosis. He began immunotherapy treatment in August 2024 which he reacted to well and which is ongoing today.

Eric met Natalie at his first HASAG coffee morning in Portsmouth. After taking a detailed statement at his home, she immediately began investigating Eric's case. Old newspaper ads about John Hunt Ltd helped her trace their employer's liability insurers, even though the company was long gone.

Following initial resistance from the insurers, a further statement from Eric resulting in them admitting liability in full.

Natalie secured a £50,000 interim payment for Eric and is in the final stages of settling his case. As part of the settlement, she will looking to fund any future private medical treatment recommended by Eric's oncologist. This will ensure that Eric can continue with immunotherapy, even after he has finished the maximum two years of treatment available through the NHS.

Contact us

For further information about mesothelioma compensation claims, please call call Natalie Amara on 03304607113 or email natalie.amara@fieldfisher.com.

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