Nottingham Asbestos Victim Is Awarded £135,000 Compensation After Disease Destroys Kidney
21/06/2007
Thank you for all your time and excellent work and rest assured that if myself or family or friends require any legal help in the future I will refer them to yourselves.
Michael, Crawley
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, an ex-motor
mechanic from Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire has been awarded
£135,000 in compensation after being diagnosed with an asbestos-related
disease, Retroperitoneal Fibrosis (RPF). It is understood to be the
first time a victim of this asbestos related disease has won
compensation for this condition.
Graham Mansfield, 67, worked as
a motor mechanic for Trent Motor Traction Company Ltd, Speeds Motor
Group Ltd and Evans Halshaw (Northern) Ltd between 1955 and 1977. He
claimed that it was whilst working for these companies that he was
exposed to the asbestos fibres in the dust from brake linings, which in
turn caused his illness.
Mr Mansfield's doctor stated it was
exposure to asbestos which caused Mr Mansfield's condition including
the loss of function in his right kidney and damage to the lining of
his lungs.
An expert in epidemiology - the study of the patterns,
causes, and control of disease - reported on the potential link between
asbestos exposure and RPF and concluded that it can be attributed to
asbestos in cases where lifetime exposure exceeds 5 years. Agreed
evidence in this case was that Mr Mansfield's cumulative occupational
asbestos exposure was in excess of 16 years.
Following arguments
from the solicitor representing the defendants, claiming that Mr
Mansfield's symptoms were not asbestos-related, further investigation
by an expert in renal medicine reported that, in the absence of
exposure to other causal agents, such as particular drugs, a limited
number of chronic infections and certain cancers, Mr Mansfield's RPF
was caused by his exposure to asbestos.
It was also revealed in
the investigations that Mr Mansfield's right kidney had been destroyed
by the RPF and that he was in considerable pain due to the disease. Mr
Mansfield also faces a significant risk of developing irreversible
renal failure and the RPF may undergo a malignant transformation.
Mr
Mansfield's life expectancy has been significantly reduced as a result
of the RPF, yet the defendants have made no formal admission of
liability.
The case was settled shortly before trial in February 2007, for a total figure of £135,000 from all three Defendant companies.
Mr
Mansfield said: "I am very happy with the outcome. I believe it is my
right to be compensated for a disease, which I developed through no
fault of my own. I have had to deal with a disease which could
prematurely end my life and I live with severe pain."
Denis
O'Gorman, an industrial disease specialist at leading law firm Irwin
Mitchell, who represented Mr Mansfield, said: "It now seems
unmistakeable that Mr Mansfield's illness is solely down to the
exposure to asbestos fibres he received between 1955 and 1977. Medical
experts have concluded that this is the case and have even stated that
this may cause Mr Mansfield's life to be ended prematurely. It seems
only fair for the companies involved to admit liability and give Mr
Mansfield the compensation which he deserves."
Adrian Budgen, a
partner and Head of Asbestos Disease Litigation with Irwin Mitchell,
explained: "As far as we are aware this is the first settlement of its
kind and is therefore very significant.
"Retroperitoneal fibrosis
is a disease characterised by the development of a thick, fibrotic mass
that can block the ureters leading to kidney failure. It is a rare
disease, affecting several hundred people in the UK. Because of its
rarity, relatively few studies have investigated its causation.
However, the balance of epidemiological evidence, although limited,
clearly supports a causal role of asbestos in retroperitoneal fibrosis.
Moreover, a causal link is biologically plausible, given that we know
asbestos fibres can penetrate to the abdominal cavity in exposed
workers to cause fibrosis, or 'asbestosis' of the lungs."
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