Mr G contacted us in March 2005 and his case was dealt with by
Michael Osborne and Rodney Nelson-Jones.
He had pleural thickening and he said that the only exposure to
asbestos dust he could recall took place
when he worked as a painter/decorator for Freemans Plc from 1980
until 1992 at their warehouse and offices at Clapham Road,
Stockwell, London, Mr G said that he came into contact with
asbestos when working in the boiler house. Before repainting them,
he would brush or wipe down pipes which were lagged with asbestos.
He also said that he occasionally removed partitions which
contained asbestos, and which had been
used to make offices.
Medical evidence was broadly agreed. The experts for the
Claimant and the Defendant both stated that Mr G had bilateral
pleural thickening. The Claimant’s expert assessed his asbestos disability at 40% and the Defendant’s
expert at 25%.
The Defendant, however, robustly defended the Claimant’s
allegation that he was exposed to significant amounts of asbestos
dust. They disclosed statements from their former maintenance
manager, Health and Safety Controller and maintenance supervisor.
These witnesses said that they became aware of the dangers of
asbestos in about 1976/77. They stated that from that date no new
asbestos products were used and that if
any work was required on any asbestos materials which were already
in place, specialised contractors were bought in beforehand to
remove or to make the materials safe. We obtained statements from
four former colleagues of Mr G. They said that they remembered
incidents when they came into contact with asbestos materials and
that no special precautions were taken or warnings given when their
work involved possible contact with asbestos.
The case was given a trial date of 29 October and was set to be
decided on the issue of whether the evidence of the Claimant’s
witnesses or of the Defendant’s witnesses was preferred. Counsel
advised that in this situation it was impossible to predict with
any certainty the outcome of the trial and that he could do no
better than to say the case had a 50/50 chance of success. The
claim settled 10 days before trial. The Defendant agreed to pay Mr
G £50,000 in full and final settlement, which was about two-thirds
of the full value of the claim.