Mesothelioma Claims

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos dust fibres. It is a particularly aggressive type of cancer, and in the UK it still causes approximately 2400 deaths each year on average, even though asbestos was banned decades ago.

The outlook for people with mesothelioma is poor, not least because by the time they are diagnosed the disease is at an advanced stage as a result of the long latency period between exposure to asbestos and symptoms manifesting themselves.

Due to the short life expectancy associated with mesothelioma, it is vitally important that recently diagnosed mesothelioma patients seek urgent legal advice from experienced asbestos compensation solicitors with a view to starting a mesothelioma claim as soon as possible.

On this page, we share a detailed insight into the disease of mesothelioma, including:

• What mesothelioma is.
• What causes people to get mesothelioma.
• The symptoms of mesothelioma.
• How mesothelioma gets diagnosed.
• What kinds of treatment there are for mesothelioma.
• The four stages of mesothelioma.
• Whether there is any sign of a cure for mesothelioma.
• The occupations most as risk of getting mesothelioma.
• Why some family members of asbestos workers get mesothelioma.

If you cannot find the information that you are looking for, simply contact us using this form or by calling us on 0800 987 8809. We will be only too pleased to try and help you.

Protecting health. Enhancing awareness. Working towards a safer future.

Can I make a mesothelioma claim and, if so, who will it be against?

The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. If you were employed in a job where you were exposed to asbestos and were subsequently diagnosed with mesothelioma, there is a reasonable chance of making a successful claim for compensation against your former employer.

Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to do everything they reasonably can to make sure their employees are not put at risk of coming to harm whilst they do their work. The dangers of asbestos were widely known by employers many years before the banning of asbestos came into force in the mid-1980s and late 1990s.

Despite this, few employers either warned their workforces about the dangers of working with asbestos or provided them with breathing protection – not even basic face masks.

Accordingly, employers who exposed their employees to asbestos were almost always in breach of their duty of care.

As we explain on our Mesothelioma disease page, it wasn’t only former asbestos workers who got exposed to asbestos. Without realising it, workers put their family members at risk of asbestos exposure too, by carrying the asbestos dust on their work clothes, when they went home.

Mesothelioma is the only type of asbestos disease caused by secondary asbestos exposure.

Many successful mesothelioma compensation claims have been made by solicitors acting for the victims of secondary asbestos exposure.

The people who can bring mesothelioma claims after diagnosis of the disease generally fall into three categories:

• Those who were exposed to asbestos at work.
• Those who suffered secondary exposure.
• Those who got exposed to, and still get exposed to, asbestos through working in buildings where old asbestos is present in the fabric of the building.

The asbestos-related disease claim will be made against the employer or employers who caused or permitted the individual to suffer from asbestos exposure.

How do I start a mesothelioma claim?

To start a successful mesothelioma claim you should first get in touch with a specialist mesothelioma solicitor. Asbestos litigation claims are a specialist area of personal injury law, and they can be particularly complicated types of asbestos compensation claims to deal with.

Can I get No Win No Fee for a mesothelioma claim?

Your initial discussion with our mesothelioma solicitors will be free and without any obligation. After this, if the solicitors believe you have reasonable grounds for starting a mesothelioma claim, they will talk to you about how to fund your case.

They must first explore all the ways in which your claim could be funded, which include looking at whether you have any insurance policies that might give you legal expenses insurance cover.

If there are no other suitable means of funding your claim, then our lawyers will offer you the option of entering into a No Win No Fee agreement.

Most mesothelioma claims are handled by our asbestos solicitors using No Win No Fee agreements, or as they are more properly known Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) arrangements.

The main attraction of having the benefit of a No Win No Fee arrangement is that in the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay any legal fees.

What is the mesothelioma claims process?

We are happy for all meetings with our solicitors to be carried out at your home.

1. You will have a meeting with your asbestos claims solicitor, where you will be taken through your work history – where and when you worked for the companies where there was asbestos exposure or where you might have been exposed.
2. Your solicitors will ask you to provide details of anyone you are still in touch with and with whom you worked whilst at the companies where you believe you suffered asbestos exposure. Your former colleagues can often shed a good deal of light on how often you came into contact with asbestos and provide other important details, some of which you may have forgotten about.
3. The solicitors will take a statement from you to include details about your work history, your recollection of getting exposed to asbestos, where and when you believe you were exposed, your medical history and your current medical situation.
4. You may want to know the amount of compensation you will receive if your mesothelioma claim is successful and the solicitors give you a broad outline, although until they have seen your medical records and gathered detailed medical evidence from mesothelioma experts (oncologists), they will be limited in the precise advice they can give you about the full extent of any compensation. You’ll want to know too about other items of claim you may want to make, such as:

• • loss of earnings – both past and possibly future, lost earnings.
  • reasonable medical fees.
  • care fees and the cost of other specialist assistance.
  • expenses of travelling to and from medical appointments.
  • the cost of employing someone else to do domestic tasks you can no longer do, e.g., gardening.
  • other expenses directly incurred for reasons connected to your illness.

5. The lawyers will provide you with advice about state benefits you may be entitled to receive. These include Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Our asbestos disease solicitors have extensive experience helping clients to get the benefits to which they are entitled. They will even help you make the appropriate application to the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) or any other relevant government department. Other benefits that may be available to asbestos disease victims include a lump payment payable under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Compensation Act) 1979, PIPs (Personal Independence Payments) or an Attendance Allowance (AA). There are two types of benefits available only to mesothelioma victims and only in certain circumstances by virtue of the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme and the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme. Both of these schemes only apply to mesothelioma sufferers who are unable to recover compensation from a former employer or their insurers, who got asbestos exposure from living near an industrial factory where asbestos was used, who got exposed to asbestos whilst at school or through being a patient in a hospital.
6. The solicitors will apply for your medical records and arrange for you to be examined by a consultant oncologist who is a mesothelioma specialist.
7. The solicitors will outline how the rest of the claims process works and try to give you an idea as to how long your claim will take.

Will I be able to get an interim payment for my mesothelioma claim?

If your former employer’s insurers accept liability to compensate you, your solicitors will request they pay an interim payment at the earliest stage.

An interim payment is the payment of a lump sum on account of the final compensation you will receive. Interim payments can help ease any financial pressure you or your family are experiencing and help pay for any care, domestic assistance, or medical treatment you may require.

Making use of the High Court Fast Track Process for Living Mesothelioma Claims

In cases of mesothelioma where the claimant is living (as opposed to a claim being brought by the person’s estate after they have died), it is possible to start a mesothelioma claim in the High Court using a special procedure aimed at concluding a mesothelioma claim through the court within four months from the date the court papers are served on the defendant company or more likely their insurers or nominated solicitors.

While recovering mesothelioma compensation during their lifetime may not greatly benefit the asbestos victim, it can give them peace of mind to know that their loved ones will be financially provided for in the future. It is also a comfort to the person making the claim to know that a right has been wronged – that is, the employer whose breach of statutory duty has caused them to get mesothelioma and, in doing so, has shortened their life, has been brought to account.

How will the solicitors contact the company responsible for my exposure to asbestos?

At the earliest stage of your claim, the solicitors will carry out investigations into the company that exposed you to asbestos. They will find out if the company is still in existence. In the event that it is, the solicitors will direct the claim to them with the aim of obtaining their insurance details.

If the company is no longer in existence, experienced asbestos solicitors usually have records and the resources for finding out the identity of the defunct company’s insurers. The solicitors may have even successfully pursued previous asbestos disease claims against them.

Even if the company is no longer in existence or can’t be found, and no insurers can be traced, it may still be able to claim under either the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme or the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme (DMPS), as referred to previously.

Will I have to go to court to pursue a mesothelioma claim?

An experienced mesothelioma solicitor may issue court proceedings in a mesothelioma claim for a variety of reasons, but always with the intention of speeding up the process. As already explained, the special court procedure for ensuring a fast-track settlement will be initiated where the mesothelioma claimant is still alive.

Most of the mesothelioma claims our solicitors deal with are settled on the best possible terms without the need to attend a court hearing. Some mesothelioma claims may even settle without the need for court proceedings.

If the Defendants dispute your claim, or any part of it, the case will be decided in court by a Judge who has experience dealing with mesothelioma cases.

What are the time limits for starting a mesothelioma claim?

There is a three-year time limit for bringing a mesothelioma claim to the court. ‘Bring a claim to court’ means starting court proceedings by sending the relevant paperwork and fees to court. The period is known as the ‘limitation period’.

The three-year period for starting any asbestos claim usually starts on the day you receive a diagnosis of asbestos disease. However, you should ask your asbestos solicitor what date the limitation period is in your particular case because there are exceptions.

Our Mesothelioma Solicitors will always be there for you.

From the moment you make the first call to our experienced asbestos disease solicitors, you will realise that you are speaking with people who care about helping you. Armed with a wealth of knowledge and experience they will guide you through an extremely difficult time for you and your family, providing all the legal support you need and much more.

If you decide to entrust your mesothelioma claim to the solicitors at Bridge McFarland, you will come to rely on them for practical advice, assistance and help throughout the whole claims process. They will be there for you and your family every step of the way.

Asbestos Awareness is dedicated to informing, educating, and supporting people in relation to asbestos-related diseases.

For further information, or to speak to a member of our experienced medical personal injury solicitors, please call 0800 987 8809. Alternatively, you can fill in this contact form.

To discuss making an asbestos compensation claim, please complete the form below to receive an email or a phone call from us.