Settlement obtained for family of Norwich mesothelioma sufferer

Martyn Hayward, an asbestos-related disease specialist at Ashtons Legal, has helped the widow of a retired Norfolk heating engineer to obtain a five-figure compensation settlement for his premature death.

Sadly Mr P, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly before the Covid pandemic, died before his personal injury claim could be concluded.

Mr P had spent the majority of his working life installing cookers, boilers and central heating systems in both private homes and educational settings. In almost all instances, from the early 1950s onwards, he could identify his exposure to asbestos which, in those days, was used in a number of ways but particularly as lagging for pipework.

Mr P recalled not only coming into contact with the asbestos but also having asbestos dust settle on his clothes while he was working and, in some cases, having to eat his packed lunch in an environment in which asbestos dust was in the air. His former employers included the Eastern Gas Board which, at that time, did not have the policies and procedures that are now in place to inform and protect employees in relation to contact with asbestos.

Martyn Hayward comments: “Mr P knew for some years that he had asbestos-related pleural plaques as this had been identified during regular health checks. It was always at the back of his mind that he might someday suffer from mesothelioma. Fortunately, he remained healthy and fit into his early 80s but then shortness of breath, tiredness, loss of appetite and weight loss caused him to seek medical advice and he received the mesothelioma diagnosis he had hoped to avoid. It, unfortunately, led to his untimely death less than 18 months after his first symptoms emerged.”

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