Widower Receives Compensation After Wife's Death From Mesothelioma
A widower in London has been awarded £125,000 after his wife passed away as a result of mesothelioma.
Mr Pete Darby’s late wife passed away on 20 January 2005 after suffering a rapid decline in her health after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in July 2004. Mrs Darby experienced increasing breathlessness in April 2004 and later developed severe symptoms including pulmonary embolism before her death.
Investigations into the source of Mrs Darby’s mesothelioma, an asbestos related form of cancer, revealed that she had been exposed to asbestos through the course of her occupation as a self-employed cleaner and through fibres on her husband’s clothing from his employment as a carpenter with Wates Ltd in London between 1965 and 1972.
Mrs Darby had her own business cleaning new houses for sale in the 1970s and 80s, where her duties included clearing up spilled Artex which was often used on the ceilings of the houses that, at that time, contained asbestos.
Specialist mesothelioma solicitors at Irwin Mitchell were able to identify both Wates and the numerous other building companies that Mr Darby worked for as a contractor in the South East.
Medical evidence was prepared and witness evidence from Mr Darby and a former employee of Mrs Darby’s was obtained to support the mesothelioma compensation claim which was issued against Wates and seven of the companies which operated sites where Mrs Darby worked. Ultimately, the claim against the house builders arising from exposure to Artex was not pursued, but judgment was obtained against Wates.
The court dealt with the claim under the expedited mesothelioma procedure adopted in the High Court in London. When judgment was entered, an interim payment was ordered in favour of Mr Darby and the claim was ultimately settled by negotiation.
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