Asbestos News Autumn 2014

Asbestos News
Autumn 2014
Peter Williams
Partner
020 7861 4825
Dushal Mehta
Senior Associate
020 7861 4033
Andrew Morgan
Partner
020 7861 4036
Alice Ketteringham
Solicitor
020 7861 4553
Caroline Pinfold
Partner
020 7861 4022
• Caring for our clients
• Commitment to our cases
• Cutting edge expertise
Proud Sponsors of
£160,000.00
recovered for ex
merchant seaman
page 2
Mesothelioma Act
Payments Begin
page 8
Fieldfisher supports
The Guy’s and St
Thomas’ Mesothelioma
Awareness Day
page 6

www.fieldfisher.com/personalinjury | Freephone 0800 358 3848
Contents
1 Andrew Morgan recovers
damages for mesothelioma
sufferer from California
2 Client settles case against
multinational oil company for
exposure to asbestos
3 Widow recovers substantial
damages after her husband
was exposed to asbestos after
making fire doors for Austins
of East Ham Limited in 1960’s
4 Compensation for widow of
former lorry driver of Express
Lifts
5 Caroline Pinfold recovers
compensation for the family
of a former engineer
5 Compensation awarded to family
of boiler scaler who suffered from
lung cancer
6 Fieldfisher supports Guy’s and St
Thomas’
6 Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment
Scheme awarded just weeks
after first instruction

7 Cape asbestos factory
compensates worker for
lung cancer

7 Diffuse mesothelioma scheme
payment for Colin Delph
8 Mesothelioma Act payments
begin
8 Substantial damages recovered
from Kitsons and British Rail
8 Insurers had unfair advantage in
compensation scheme
9 Meet the team
Peter Williams
Partner
t: 020 7861 4825
Ranked No 1 For
Industrial Disease
Litigation
Chambers, 2013
At Fieldfisher we understand what
a difficult time patients and their
families will be going through when
there is a diagnosis of an asbestos
related disease.
We produce this newsletter to give
you an insight into the work that we
do so that you can see what can be
achieved.
Our clients are people who have the
right to compensation for a terrible
illness which they have contracted
through no fault of their own, but
through the negligence and lack of
care of their employers and others.
We have recovered over £200
million for our clients and concluded
over 2,500 successful cases.
Our lawyers are renowned for their
expertise, their commitment and
the care they take in such sensitive
situations. The three partners here
each have over 20 years experience
in acting almost exclusively for
clients suffering from mesothelioma
and other asbestos diseases.
In that time our work has been at
the forefront of developments in the
law. We have been instrumental in
changing the law for the benefit of
victims both at Government level
and through cases in the House
of Lords. Cases conducted by our
partners have resulted in changes
to the law to allow hospices to
recover the cost of looking after
mesothelioma patients from those
who we sue on their behalf.
You will see from some of the cases
in this issue that there are many
different circumstances our clients
encounter and we cater for them all.
We deal with things very quickly,
with minimal fuss and disruption,
allowing clients to concentrate on
the more important business of
enjoying time with their families.
You only have to read the quotes
from our clients and from the
independent legal directories
to know that we work quickly
and compassionately to win the
best settlements that our clients
deserve.
Please take the time to read on and
find out what we can achieve for
you and your family. Please call us
on freephone 0800 358 3848. We
would be happy to speak to you
about your claim.
Peter Williams
Head of Asbestos Claims Team
Welcome to the Autumn 2014 edition of
Asbestos News

Caring for our clients | Commitment to our cases | Cutting edge expertise 1
Neville says:
Once it became clear that the greatest likelihood of my asbestos exposure had been in the UK 50
or more years ago [my US attorneys] put me in touch with the UK law firm Fieldfisher.
I am extremely grateful for that recommendation which has turned out very successfully despite
what I consider must have been a very difficult case given the large amount of elapsed time
between the exposure and the filing of the law suit.
The lawyer at Fieldfisher handling my case has been Andrew Morgan. He has been outstandingly
persistent and vigilant in pursuing the case against my former employer…I enthusiastically
endorse his professionalism and work ethic.
Andrew Morgan recovers damages for
mesothelioma sufferer from California
Andrew was able to take instructions from
Neville by Skype. He advised there was good
evidence of negligence and set about tracing
the employer. Happily Andrew found that the
company still existed and traded, although it
had changed its name, and found that it had
insurance coverage. He made a claim for
Neville’s past and future losses of earnings, for
the injury itself and for the private healthcare
and Medicare costs.
The Defendants denied liability so Andrew
Neville Holt was born, raised
and educated in England.
He obtained a degree in
chemistry from Cambridge
University in 1957 and began
his career as a chemical
engineer with APV near Gatwick, Surrey. His
early tasks included building scale model
pilots of chemical plants out of glass and
metal components. In order to maintain
critical temperatures the apparatus had to
be properly insulated and for this purpose
Neville and his colleagues used sectional
lagging and flexible insulation sheets which he
cut to size and shape. Where possible these
materials were re-used each time that the
test apparatus was dismantled. In this way,
for a period of about 4 or 5 years, Neville was
exposed to asbestos.
Not long after this, in the early 1960s, Neville
moved to the USA where he has remained
and where he has pursued his career and has
raised a family.
Neville was still working when, at age 75, he
began having problems with his breathing.
He underwent various investigations, funded
initially by his workplace healthcare insurance,
until, sadly, he was diagnosed as suffering
from mesothelioma.
Neville could not recall asbestos exposure
except for his exposure in England in his
early career. He did not know whether
that employer still existed or how to go
about making a claim. He contacted a
specialist mesothelioma attorney in
California, where he now lives, who
recommended Andrew Morgan.
issued court proceedings. At the first court
hearing the Defendants said the exposure was
so early that it could be argued the employer
need not have appreciated there was any risk
of injury and so the Court listed the case for a
full trial.
Andrew disclosed documents showing
that handling sectional lagging gave rise to
substantial quantities of airborne asbestos.
At that point he negotiated a settlement of
£300,000.

At the end of the case, Mr M wrote to Dushal about his handling of the case:
“ I would like to thank you for helping us through our claim
against my old employers. It was a trying time for everyone
but you and your associates were always very considerate
and kind.”
Dushal was instructed to
bring a claim for Mr M
who had been diagnosed
with mesothelioma. Mr
M was an ex merchant
seaman. After his time at
sea he held a variety of jobs including
managerial positions in banks, working
as a consultant at the National Maritime
Museum and a clerical officer for HM
Revenue and Customs. In the early years
he spent a considerable period of time in
the merchant navy as a chief deck officer.
Mr M was married and had grown up
children. His wife was still working as a
lawyer at the time of his diagnosis.
When Dushal went to see Mr M at his
home, Mr M was clear and concise about
the one time he recalled being exposed
to asbestos. Between 1976 and 1982,
Mr M was employed by a multinational
oil company as a deck officer on various
ships operating on the North Sea oil
trade routes. Amongst other vessels,
he worked on the ‘Aberdeen’ and the
‘Warwickshire’. Mr M provided Dushal
with his seaman’s discharge book which
detailed the various vessels he worked
on. Dushal was also able to obtain the
missing seaman’s records from the
Lloyds Shipping Register.
On one occasion in about 1978/79, Mr
M was in the course of his work serving
on board one of the vessels on route
between Southampton and the Brent
spar oil storage buoy in the North Sea. In
the southern North Sea the vessel’s high
pressure turbine became defective and
over a period of about 6 hours a number
of members of the crew including Mr M
were required to remove insulation from
Merchant seaman recovers
damages for 6 hour exposure to asbestos
pipes and turbine casings in the engine
room of the vessel. The work was done
using cutting tools, hammers and chisels
and the insulation was pulled off by hand
and placed in bags. The insulation was
up to 12 inches thick. The work was done
in an enclosed engine room without
ventilation or protective respiratory
devices. Mr M was required to help out
with the removal of the insulation as it
was an emergency situation. This was
not part of his duties as a deck officer.
He was also given assurances by the
vessel’s chief engineer that it was not
blue asbestos and that it was safe to
work/handle. This was the only time
that Mr M recalled coming into contact
with asbestos.
Shortly after meeting with Mr M,
Dushal obtained supportive medical
evidence. The leading medical expert
in the field of asbestos disease, Dr R
M Rudd concluded that the insulation
was likely to be brown asbestos and the
exposure over the 6 hours was likely to
have increased Mr M’s risk of developing
mesothelioma above the risk to the
general population. The multinational oil
company did not produce any evidence
to defend the claim however, they did
want to ask Mr M some questions about
the exposure on the vessel and also ask
him to comment on some of the entries
made in his medical records. They did

Caroline recovered compensation for a widow whose husband was
exposed to asbestos making fire doors for Austins of East Ham Limited.
Mr G did not know where he had been exposed to asbestos when he was
diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2012. Caroline visited him in hospital
and whilst helping him to complete the applications for government
benefits it emerged that he had been exposed to asbestos when working
for a joinery company that made fire doors between 1964 and 1966. He had not cut any
asbestos materials himself but had been in the same area as other people doing this and
the dust had been widespread. No one had been provided with any sort of protection from
the asbestos dust at the factory. The company had been dissolved but Caroline traced the
relevant insurers.
It was not possible to complete the claim during Mr G’s lifetime but it was successfully
completed on behalf of his widow. The money will provide her with financial security for the
future although nothing will compensate her for the loss of her husband of over 50 years.
The compensation also included £7,506 on behalf of the local hospice who provided care to
Mr G in respect of his mesothelioma.
Widow recovers substantial damages after her husband was exposed to
asbestos when making fire doors for Austins of East Ham Limited in 1960’s
not dispute Mr M’s diagnosis or that the
emergency situation occurred on that
vessel but they did wish to clarify the
circumstances of the exposure in that
emergency situation and also clarify
some of the medical notes.
Unfortunately, there were a number
of medical records which incorrectly
reflected the information that Mr M had
given to his doctors and consultants
about his asbestos exposure. From the
time that Mr M was being investigated
for his illness and from the first time
that it was suggested to him that he
may have an asbestos disease, he had
always maintained that he could only
recall one occasion when he was exposed
to asbestos. However, this information
had been incorrectly recorded in various
medical entries. Some of those entries
gave the impression that Mr M may have
been exposed elsewhere either in the
merchant navy or in other employment.
This resulted in the Defendant wanting
to take Mr M’s evidence. Dushal
immediately issued court proceedings
and within a very short period of time
Dushal arranged for Mr M’s evidence to
be taken at his home. Mr M provided a
clear account of the emergency situation
on board the vessel and the way he was
exposed to asbestos for those 6 hours.
He also confirmed what he had said to
the various consultants and doctors
throughout his investigations. After Mr M
had given his evidence, a transcript and
video recording was sent to the Judge for
him to consider prior to the hearing which
Dushal had arranged soon after Mr M’s
evidence had been taken. At that hearing,
the Judge was satisfied that Mr M had
proved his case and as the Defendant did
not have any evidence to put forward he
entered judgment in Mr M’s favour with
the level of damages to be assessed at a
future hearing.
Shortly after the hearing, Dushal was
able to settle Mr M’s claim for damages
in the sum of £160,000. Despite the
difficulties with the Defendant and the
need for Mr M’s evidence to be taken at
his home, Dushal was still able to resolve
Mr M’s claim within 6 months.
The damages allowed Mrs M to take a
break from her job to spend time with
and care for her husband. Unfortunately,
following the diagnosis Mr M was not
able to enjoy the many pastimes that he
had particularly sailing. Mr and Mrs M
had a boat which they sailed regularly.
As a result of the illness, Mr M had to
employ others to maintain his boat and
was having to consider selling it.

that they had some further information
about Mr W’s previous employment and
where he may have come into contact
with asbestos. They had spoken to
some of Mr W’s previous friends and
work colleagues who had attended the
funeral. They recalled Mr W working
in the lift industry and particularly for
a company called Express Lifts in the
1980’s and 1990’s. During his time
with this company he was employed
as a lorry driver. He was one of only
two lorry drivers that the company
employed. Unfortunately, the other
driver could not be traced but Mr W’s
colleagues who worked for Express
Lifts as engineers were able to recall
him working for the company. They
were also able to provide statements to
confirm that Mr W would have to attend
various sites and collect and clear away
old redundant lifts and component parts
and bring them back to the company
yard or take them to the scrap yard.
The witnesses confirmed that whilst
Dushal was instructed
to bring a claim by Mr W
who had been diagnosed
with mesothelioma.
Unfortunately, at the time
that Mr W contacted
Dushal he was extremely unwell and
found it difficult to recall how he was
exposed to asbestos. He had worked for
a number of companies predominantly
in the building industry but also latterly
in the lift industry. As Mr W was
unable to recall where he was exposed
to asbestos Dushal completed the
government application forms for Mr
W and he was able to obtain a lump
sum payment from the government
(for his diagnosis) and a weekly benefit
as he believed that his condition had
been caused by his previous work (even
though he could not pinpoint where he
was exposed and how).
Mr W then sadly died of his condition.
Mr W’s family then contacted Dushal
sometime after the death to advise
Compensation for widow of former
lorry driver of Express Lifts
they worked for the company as
engineers they were aware that the
component parts of the old lifts
comprised of asbestos material. They
were old and in poor condition and in
the course of Mr W clearing away and
collecting the materials from the various
sites he would have come into contact
with asbestos. Mr W would have been
required to lift and carry the asbestos
materials and even the asbestos dust
and fibres which were not inhaled would
still settle on open surfaces and on
the bed of the lorry. Mr W would not
have been given a mask to wear and
the witnesses were able to confirm that
they themselves did not receive any
training about the dangers of asbestos
and therefore it was unlikely that Mr W
would have been given such advice.
Dushal brought a claim against the
company that took over from Express
Lifts namely, Otis. Dushal had
previously successfully pursued Otis
for other mesothelioma sufferers.
Proceedings were issued in the High
Court and Dushal managed to obtain
supportive medical evidence. This
was despite the fact that there were
a number of difficulties in that Mr W
had in his medical records advised his
doctor that he thought he contracted
the condition from working in
demolition and in the building trade and
furthermore the fact that the exposure
occurred only 15-20 years before Mr W
started suffering with the illness. The
latency period (i.e. the period between
the exposure and the onset of the
illness) is generally considered to be
between 30-50 years.
There are however conflicting views on
this whereby some medical experts will
accept that exposure which occurred 15
years prior to the onset of the disease
can be considered to be causative of
the condition. In Mr W’s case Dushal
was able to obtain a supportive medical
report to say that the exposure with the
lift company was likely to have caused
Mr W’s illness.
After proceedings were issued and prior
to the initial hearing, Dushal was able
to secure an admission of liability from
Otis and the case has recently settled
for the benefit of Mr W’s bereaved wife.

Michael’s daughter Tina said:
“We were thankful and grateful for
Peter Williams’ kind and expert
approach to my Dads case. My Dad
would have been pleased that my
Mums financial future has been
secured.”
Caroline Pinfold recovers compensation
for the family of a former engineer
Caroline has recovered
compensation for the
family of a former
engineer who died
from mesothelioma.
Maurice Kelly was a very
knowledgeable engineer and in later life
became a technical author. He spent
most of his career as an engineer in
the Merchant Navy and also worked as
chief engineer for Shoreham Harbour
Trustees, where he was exposed to
asbestos.
He worked at Shoreham on a steam
driven dredger and was especially
exposed to asbestos when replacing
the asbestos packing around the boiler.
There was also asbestos lagging on
various steam pipes. This was “open”
lagging that was not covered with any
protective layer.
Maurice was born in July 1931 and
until March 2011 had no serious health
problems whatsoever. He became
severely breathless and was diagnosed
with mesothelioma shortly after that.
Sadly he passed away as a result of
this in August 2011. His daughter and
granddaughter cared for him during his
last illness before he was admitted to
St Barnabas Hospice. The cost of the
hospice care was recovered as part of
the compensation by the family.
Maurice Kelly
Before he contracted mesothelioma he
was very active, cycling regularly, and
would carry out DIY work at home and
for members of his family. He was very
skilful at restoring and repairing a wide
variety of things. His son unfortunately
had a partial amputation of his right leg,
and as a result of complications had
over 100 operations and 13 amputations
on the same leg. His son lives an
independent adult life but Maurice
used to help him a great deal and they
shared many interests. He used to take
his son to many hospital appointments
and on outings in addition to doing
work in his home and garden. His son
has completed the book on steam road
coaches that his father was working on
when he became ill with mesothelioma.
It should be published next year. The
previous books were on technical
matters including steam wagons,
Russian cars, American traction engines,
steam aircraft, and beam engines.
partly caused by his extensive exposure
to asbestos. He continued to act on
behalf of his widow, Paula and obtained
compensation of £66,000 for the family
against 11 of the ship repairing companies
shortly after proceedings were served.
risk that a smoker will suffer lung cancer
by 400%.
Michael instructed Peter Williams to
pursue a claim against the ship repairers
in January 2013. Michael would have had
three years from the date he was first told
he was suffering from lung cancer to issue
proceedings at Court against his former
employers and to stop time running
Peter immediately issued proceedings in
the High Court against 12 ship repairing
firms including Harland Wolff, Royal
Mail Lines Limited, J Russell Shipbuilders
Limited, W Badger Limited, the London
Scaling Company Limited and J Hayes
Co. Sadly, Michael died shortly thereafter.
Peter was able to obtain medical evidence
to show that Michael’s lung cancer was
Compensation awarded to family of boiler scaler who suffered from lung cancer
Michael O’Shea worked
as a boiler scaler on the
London Docks between
1955 and 1970. He worked
for almost all of the ship
repair firms on a casual
basis for short periods of between a few
days and a few weeks. He was constantly
exposed to asbestos dust working
alongside laggers stripping asbestos
based lagging from pipe work and mixing
it up to replace with new.
In January 2011 he contracted lung cancer.
He assumed the lung cancer was caused
by his smoking until he was advised by
Professor Jeremy Steele at Barts Hospital
that his substantial exposure to asbestos
could have contributed to his cancer.
Heavy exposure to asbestos increases the

alongside other legal firms, mesothelioma
patients and their supporters, bringing
cakes and marketing materials to raise
awareness and to collect donations.
This all goes to help fund the Support Group
and its on-going work with patients, who are
suffering from mesothelioma, asbestosis,
pleural thickening and other asbestos
related diseases.
Over £300 was raised on the day which will
be used to help increase further awareness.
Fieldfisher supports Guy’s and St Thomas’
Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme
awarded just weeks after first instruction
Fieldfisher were proud to take part in the
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Mesothelioma and
Asbestos Support Group’s cake sale. The
aim was to raise money for the Support
Group and to increase public awareness of
mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases.
Advocates on the day included Rachel
Thomas, Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse
Specialist from Guys Hospital and
Andrew Morgan, Partner in Fieldfisher’s
Mesothelioma Claims Department. Other
members of Fieldfisher’s Mesothelioma
Claims Department also attended,
given a mask or other protection and
was not given any warnings about the
dangers of working with asbestos. But it
was dusty work which gave rise to visible
quantities of dust in the air.
Alan developed a troubling cough whilst
taking a Caribbean cruise in December
2013. He went to see his doctor and
was referred to hospital for further
investigation. In May 2014 he was given
the diagnosis of mesothelioma and in
June he instructed Andrew Morgan to
make a claim.
Andrew went to see Alan at home to
take his statement and he ascertained
quickly that the employer was no longer
available to be sued. He searched for
insurance details using the Employers
Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) and other
resources. When he was satisfied that
there were no insurers to pursue Andrew
filed a claim on Alan’s behalf with the
Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme
(DMPS).
Looking at the statement that Andrew
had prepared for him, DMPS were
satisfied firstly that Alan had been
exposed as a result of his employer’s
negligence and secondly that there were
no insurers to be found. As a result they
made a substantial award to Alan in
August, just two months after he first
contacted Andrew.
Hampshire man Alan Keats
was aged 15 when
he started work for
Studdard and Currie Ltd,
a firm of painters and
decorators of Hill Lane,
Southampton, in 1962.
He was employed by them to work at
various factories in the Southampton area
including the Pirelli factories in Eastleigh,
in Bishopstoke and in Southampton itself.
In these factories Pirelli manufactured
various different types of electric cabling
and wiring, from very fine telephone wires
up to “three-phase” mains electric cables
that are laid in the street. Alan worked
for Studdard and Currie for six or seven
years. The company ceased trading many
years ago.
Alan worked at these factories regularly.
Sometimes he was there for just a day or
two but on some jobs he was there for up
to a month or more.
Overall he spent about half his time
working in one or other of the Pirelli
factories and half his time working
elsewhere. Alan had to paint lagged
pipework in the boiler houses. He had
to prepare the surfaces by sanding
the pipework down using glass paper.
Although he would spend one or two
hours at a time doing this, Alan was not
Hampshire’s Alan Keats

and thoracotomy. He also undertook
chemotherapy.
Mr L instructed Dushal to bring a claim
for him against Cape. Despite Mr L
having a long history of smoking and even
though he was exposed to asbestos for
a relatively short period of time, Dushal
was still able to obtain supportive medical
evidence which attributed his lung cancer
to his previous asbestos exposure as
opposed to his smoking. The medical
expert concluded that Mr L would not
have developed lung cancer if he had not
been exposed to asbestos.
Dushal was able to obtain a substantial
settlement for Mr L without the need for
Court proceedings.
Dushal was instructed
to bring a claim for Mr L
following his diagnosis
with lung cancer. Mr L had
previously worked at the
notorious Cape Asbestos
factory on Harts Lane in Barking. Mr L
was only employed by Cape for a period
of 6 months in 1963 and 1964. During that
time, he worked as a general labourer and
his tasks included unloading asbestos
from lorries and barges. He only wore a
very basic dust mask and was not warned
of the dangers of inhaling asbestos. Mr L
was required to unload asbestos on most
days and on some occasions there was
asbestos cargo coming into the factory
twice a day. He unloaded both blue and
white asbestos which came in hessian
sacks which often ripped open causing
asbestos dust to be everywhere. Mr L also
had to transport smaller sacks of asbestos
from the factory floor to the loading
stages outside.
After Mr L left the Cape factory he did
not come into contact with asbestos.
He continued working well into his
60’s and enjoyed an active lifestyle.
In 2011, he started feeling unwell and
developed a cough. He underwent
investigations for a number of years
and was eventually diagnosed with lung
cancer. Mr L underwent a bronchoscopy
Cape asbestos factory
compensates worker for lung cancer
Cape asbestos facility in Barking
Diffuse mesothelioma scheme
payment for Colin Delph
Colin Delph was exposed
to asbestos when working
as an apprentice carpenter
for a company in King’s
Lynn, Norfolk between
1965 and 1967.
The exposure was at two schools in that
area: St James Boys School, which is now
Greyfriars in London Road, King’s Lynn
where he had to saw up asbestos ceiling
tiles and also bevel the edges with a plane,
and at Gaywood Park Secondary Modern
School when the boiler and heating system
were being renewed.
Colin’s employer at the time no longer
exists and no insurance could be traced.
The Administrators of the Diffuse
Mesothelioma Payment Scheme agreed
he was eligible and paid the tariff rate for
his age to him.
Colin received this money during his
lifetime.
The Government brought in regulations
to establish a new Diffuse Mesothelioma
Payment Scheme under the Mesothelioma
Act 2014.
The regulations allowed the Government
to establish such a scheme for the purpose
of making payments to eligible people with
diffuse mesothelioma and also to eligible
dependents of those who have died with
diffuse mesothelioma. The scheme started
on 1st July 2014.

The new DMPS scheme
to make a payment in late August.
This Scheme is to be welcomed because
it provides substantial payments to many
mesothelioma sufferers who would
otherwise receive nothing other than the
much smaller Government lump sum
payment.
But the Scheme is not a complete answer:
it only pays about 80% of the average
amount that a court would award; the
Scheme only applies to those exposed
in work, so that “overalls” cases are
excluded; it only applies where the
diagnosis was made after July 2012; some
people diagnosed after July 2012 received
no payment because they were unable to
make an application before they passed,
leaving no qualifying relatives; it does not
cover lung cancer, asbestosis or other
serious industrial diseases.
Mesothelioma Act Payments Begin
In April 2014 the
Mesothelioma Act allowed
the Secretary of State
to set up the Diffuse
Mesothelioma Payment
Scheme, a scheme to
provide payments in some cases where
insurers cannot be found.
The Scheme started taking applications in
April and started making payments in July
so we now have some experience of the
way the Scheme operates in practice.
We have seen that once the DMPS has
all the information it needs (a statement
from the applicant, the schedule of
employment history from HMRC, proper
confirmation of diagnosis) the Scheme
will make a payment quickly. As an
example, we submitted an application for
Alan Keats in late June and DMPS agreed
Barrie Carrington was
exposed to asbestos
when employed by
Kitsons Insulation
Company Limited in
the 1960s. He mixed up
powdered asbestos insulation material
with water to form a paste and used this
to cover boilers. He also cut sheets of
asbestos to cover boilers. In the same
period he also worked at Parkeston
Quay in the scaling gang on ships that
were owned by British Rail. He worked
in the engine rooms of the ships where
he had to remove old asbestos lagging,
and again mix up powdered asbestos
lagging. He also made mats stuffed
with asbestos for use on the ships.
All of this work exposed Barrie to large
amounts of asbestos dust and he was
diagnosed as having mesothelioma as a
result of these exposures in June 2013.
Caroline Pinfold successfully pursued
Barrie’s claim for compensation for
mesothelioma against these employers
and this was dealt with during his
lifetime.
Substantial damages recovered
from Kitsons and British Rail
The Scheme also includes a fixed amount
to go towards legal costs. In some cases
this contribution will be sufficient to cover
costs in full. In more complex cases,
where the actual legal costs exceed this
contribution, we at Fieldfisher will limit
our costs to the contribution provided by
the Scheme so there is no shortfall for the
client to pay. That commitment is written
into our Conditional Fee Agreements.
The Government and insurers set up the
scheme and provided funds for it only
after persistent campaigning by victims’
groups, trade unions, the Association
of Personal Injury Lawyer (APIL) and
claimant law firms including Fieldfisher.
The existence of the Scheme shows that,
together, when we have the will we can
make a difference.
A parliamentary investigation has found that insurers were given preferential
treatment when steps were taken to set up a Mesothelioma compensation
scheme designed to help families of those killed by exposure to asbestos.
The Justice Select Committee was able to reveal that the Government had
made a secret pact with the insurance lobby before they had decided how
much compensation should be paid out to victims and their families. Due to
the time lag between exposure to asbestos and developing mesothelioma, which is usually
around 30 to 40 years, it has often proved exceedingly difficult to track down the insurer of
an employer to get the compensation required. The scheme is designed to cater for those
situations where an insurer cannot be traced when mesothelioma is diagnosed.
Currently under the rules of the scheme, claimants will receive 80% of the average
settlement.
Dushal Mehta, Senior Associate with the Mesothelioma Claims team at
Fieldfisher says:
“This investigation confirms what many victims,support groups andClaimant
lawyers have suspected for some time.There was a lack of transparency
from the very outset with little input fromany otherinterested party.The
government made uptheir mind as tohow the scheme was towork andthe
levelof payments tobe made at a very early stage.They (and the insurance
industry) failed totake on board the concerns and issues raised by andon
behalf of the victims of this terrible disease.We hope that the government
willnow dothe right thing and disclose the document tothe inquiry andother
interested parties.”
Insurers had unfair advantage in
compensation scheme

The team
Peter is head of the group. He has specialised in asbestos-related
disease claims for 20 years and he gives annual talks to solicitors
on the issues. The legal 500 recommends him as a leading
personal injury lawyer who is “universally respected, and superb with
clients”.
Alice trained at Fieldfisher and joined the Industrial Disease
Department in 2013 having previously worked in the department
as a paralegal and trainee. She specialises in cases arising out of
asbestos related disease including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung
cancer and pleural thickening.
Dushal specialises in asbestos disease cases, with specific
expertise in mesothelioma claims. He joined the firm in 2009 and
is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. He
has developed a reputation for securing early settlements in high
profile cases.
Andrew has specialised in asbestos disease claims since 1993.
He is a past coordinator of the Occupational Health Group of the
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and is an APIL
fellow. The Legal 500 describes Andrew as “clever, hardworking and
respected by opponents”.
Caroline has specialised in asbestos disease claims for over 25
years. She is a Trustee of the East London Mesothelioma Support
Group (ELMS). She is a member of the Association of Personal
Injury Lawyers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Chambers, a leading legal directory states she is “incredibly hard
working, has an eye for detail and fights very hard for her clients”.
Peter Williams
Head of Asbestos Team
e: peter.williams@Fieldfisher.com
t: 020 7861 4825
Andrew Morgan
Partner
e: andrew.morgan@Fieldfisher.com
t: 020 7861 4036
Dushal Mehta
Senior Associate
e: dushal.mehta@Fieldfisher.com
t: 020 7861 4033
Caroline Pinfold
Partner
e: caroline.pinfold@Fieldfisher.com
t: 020 7861 4022
Alice Ketteringham
Solicitor
e: alice.ketteringham@Fieldfisher.com
t: 020 7861 4553
Meet the team

Freephone
0800 358 3848
www.fieldfisher.com/personalinjury
Riverbank House
2 Swan Lane
London
EC4R 3TT
Email: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com

Asbestos News Autumn 2014

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