Pinning liability on the reluctant insurer

Mr W, who is now in his seventies, grew up in south London and was employed by Willard Works Limited out of their premises in the shadow of Battersea Power Station between 1968 until 1972. For a period of about five years, he worked at Northwick Park Hospital and then St Thomas' Hospital fitting the ductwork in air conditioning units using asbestos rope for sealing.

He worked alongside carpenters who were sawing asbestos sheets. The asbestos dust floated about in the air and irritated him and his colleagues as they breathed it in. At St Thomas's Hospital he saw asbestos insulation being mixed up in a bucket and applied to bandage-like lagging to give it a smooth finish. The rooms where this work was done were large but often underground and poorly ventilated, so it was impossible not to inhale the asbestos dust in the air.

Mr W was not given any warnings about the dangers of working with asbestos. He was never given any personal protective equipment, such as gloves or a mask.

On a recent holiday in Turkey Mr W became breathless every time he had to climb the stairs to reach his apartment. He went to see his GP when he got home and was given antibiotics, which failed to resolve the issue. He was referred to hospital where an X-ray showed a shadow on his lung which required investigation.

Shortly after he had a biopsy taken and was told that he was suffering from the asbestos disease of mesothelioma. He began a course of immunotherapy on the NHS.

Mr W contacted HASAG for advice and after being given details of various solicitors, he instructed Andrew Morgan.

Andrew obtained Mr W's extensive HMRC employment history schedule. He cross-referenced this against Mr W's statement and narrowed down possible defendants to two employers where there was clear evidence of some asbestos exposure.

Mr W was exposed to asbestos when working for one employer in the Houses of Parliament, but they were able to show that they had taken some steps to protect their employees, and the period of exposure was so short as to be insignificant when compared with the exposure at Willard Works.

The insurers for Willard Works initially denied any responsibility for the company, saying the name on their records did not match the name on the HMRC Schedule. The company itself was dissolved, so Andrew had to undertake detailed investigations to identify the company beyond doubt. He investigated telephone directories and trade directories from the late 1960 and early 1970s. When they were given this evidence, the insurer continued to deny liability because of a small difference between the trading name of the business in the Yellow Pages and the registered name of the incorporated limited company.

At this point Andrew threatened to bring a claim directly against the insurer itself under the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act. In such a claim the insurer is obliged to provide copies of any internal documents that it holds that are relevant. In the face of this, the insurer admitted responsibility for the company and the case then settled quickly for £250,000.

Mr W was already receiving immunotherapy on the NHS, but he was concerned that NHS funding might be withdrawn in the future, or that he might be offered other treatment for which NHS funding is not available. Andrew therefore settled the claim on the basis that Mr W could come back to the other side for a further payment for future private medical care costs for his mesothelioma if needed.

Contact us

For further information about mesothelioma compensation claims, please call Andrew Morgan on 0330 460 6737 or email andrew.morgan@fieldfisher.com.

Alternatively

• You can speak to our asbestos disease lawyers on freephone 0800 358 3848
• email us: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
• Complete the short online enquiry form

All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win no fee.