Compensation worth over half a million pounds, including
periodical payments, awarded to blind widow
We acted on behalf of Caroline, a
widow whose husband had been negligently exposed to asbestos during
the course of his employment with Halsen Insulation &
Engineering Limited. As a result of the exposure, her husband
Charles died from mesothelioma.
Caroline was blind as a result
of a detached retina when she was in her twenties. She also
had osteoporosis and suffered with back pain.
Before Charles was diagnosed
with mesothelioma he would look after his wife's needs. Every
morning he laid out her clothes before going to work. He also
ensured that everything was in place for his wife when she came
downstairs. He would, for instance, leave everything out ready for
her to make a cup of coffee and prepare meals. He would also make a
sandwich for her to eat at lunchtime and set out her medication. In
the evenings he would make her an evening meal and tidy away
afterwards and set out her medication again.
On his days off, Charles would
spend more time preparing breakfast and lunch for his wife and
would also see to all the household chores, such as hoovering,
dusting, cleaning, laundry and cooking.
Charles would also take Caroline
out about twice a week to go shopping or to the hairdressers, or
simply for drive.
Charles also provided companionship for
his wife. His presence in the home provided her with a sense of
security and a great deal of social care. Without Charles, Caroline
was completely confined to her home.
When Charles died, we arranged for Allied
Healthcare to provide the practical care and assistance to
help Caroline with her day-to-day activities and in
running the home.
We also argued that although Caroline's
practical needs were important, social isolation for people
with sight impairment was a common problem and it would be
necessary for Caroline to have some companionship in the
evening.
We argued that as prior to her husband’s
death Caroline had depended on, enjoyed and benefited from her
husband’s company in the evenings and was reassured by his presence
in the house, without this companionship, there was a potential to
cause Mrs X to become more socially isolated and this could affect
her self confidence, possibly lead to complications like
anxiety and depression.
In addition to the care from Allied
Healthcare, we arranged a Case Manager to be assigned
to Caroline to provide a monthly review of her care needs,
ensuring that the care agencies involved were responding
to her needs. The Case Manager acted as the first port of call
for the agency and provided emergency planning.
A few days before trial, the Defendants, who
had fiercely fought the claim, agreed to pay Caroline £145,000
for the loss of her husband under the usual heads of claim in a
mesothelioma case made under the Law
Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 and the Fatal Accidents
Act 1976.
However, uniquely in addition, we had made a
claim for the loss of companionship and practical care provided
by Caroline's husband prior to his death.
We made this claim on a periodical payments
basis, i.e. a sum to be paid once a year for the remainder of the
Caroline’s life to provide for the cost of practical care and
companionship. It was agreed that the Defendants would pay the sum
of £23,200 which is to increase on a yearly basis to reflect an
increase in the annual earnings in line with the Annual Earnings
Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).
This is the first case in which periodical
payments have been awarded in a fatal claim, i.e. to a person who
did not actually suffer the injury, but who is a person who has
been affected by the consequence of the negligence, i.e. the death
of her husband.
This yearly sum will be paid
to Caroline for the remainder of her life and as it is
estimated that she will survive for over 18 years, her claim is
therefore worth in excess of £500,000.
For further information or if you believe you have a
mesothelioma compensation claim,
please contact a member of our mesothelioma claims team on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.