From 1980 until 1994 Mr Harper was employed by BT as an
installation engineer. The work involved running cables through
walls and ceilings which often contained material made
from asbestos. As a result
of his work, Mr Harper was exposed to substantial quantities of
dust and asbestos fibre.
In early 2004 Mr Harper noticed he was becoming breathless. He
consulted his General Practitioner (GP) and was referred to Newham
General Hospital for x-rays. On his second visit to Newham General
Hospital Mr Harper was detained in hospital where fluid was drained
from his lungs. He remained an in-patient for about 2 weeks.
A biopsy taken at that time revealed a malignant mesothelioma and he was referred to further
experts at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.
Following the diagnosis Mr Harper sought advice from a
London-based Law firm and was advised that he had no claim for
compensation.
Mr Harper sought a second opinion from Andrew Morgan, partner in our Mesothelioma and Asbestos Claims Department.
Andrew had successfully recovered compensation from BT before
and took the case on a 'no win, no
fee' basis.
Court proceedings were issued and served but sadly Mr Harper
died from his mesothelioma in April
2005.
Mr Harper's widow agreed to carry on with the claim.
Andrew Morgan obtained Judgment for Mrs Harper in the
mesothelioma fast track that operates at the Royal Courts of
Justice in London under the supervision of Master Whitaker.
At that time BT Plc tried to take advantage of the decision of
the House of Lords in Barker v St Gobain Pipelines Limited and
argued that they were only responsible for a proportion of the
exposure, and were therefore only responsible for a proportion of
the compensation.
But Master Whitaker did not accept BT’s contention that there
was any other employer that made a material contribution to the
risk of mesothelioma, so he ordered BT pay compensation in
full.
Andrew Morgan settled the claim for Mrs Harper for £148,000
compensation. BT also agreed to pay Mrs Harper’s legal costs.
For further information or if you have a mesothelioma compensation claim, call
Andrew Morgan on
020 7861 4036 or email andrew.morgan@fw.com
You can discuss your mesothelioma
compensation claim with any of our mesothelioma claims lawyers on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email
personalinjury@ffw.com
or complete our short enquiry form.