A 70-year-old former plumber has received a substantial settlement from Lambeth Council after the local authority admitted exposing him to asbestos during his employment in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to his diagnosis of the terminal cancer mesothelioma.
His case was taken on by Catriona Ratcliffe, a solicitor from the asbestos team at Leigh Day.
The man, who Leigh Day have referred to as Paul, worked for Lambeth Council from 1977 to 1986. His role involved installing and repairing heating systems in council properties, where he regularly handled asbestos materials. He recalls stripping asbestos lagging from pipes and tanks, and removing old asbestos gaskets that ‘crumbled to dust,’ often while working in confined, dusty service ducts beneath housing estates.
In 2023, while working as a school caretaker, Paul developed severe shortness of breath. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma the following year – a cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure – and underwent a gruelling clinical trial that left him seriously unwell.
Facing the loss of his income and an uncertain future, Paul contacted Leigh Day to investigate. Lambeth Council subsequently admitted liability for his exposure and the resulting illness.
A significant concern for Paul was the future care of his wife, who is registered disabled and whom he has supported as her primary carer. In a notable legal outcome, the settlement successfully included compensation for her future care needs – an element often contested in such cases.
In addition to addressing his lost earnings and his wife’s care, the settlement allows Paul to seek further compensation should he require additional private medical treatment in the future. The case underscores the long-latency and devastating impact of historic workplace asbestos exposure, holding a public body accountable for safety failures decades later.
Catriona Ratcliffe, senior associate solicitor in Leigh Day’s asbestos team said: ‘For decades, Paul and his wife have coped together to manage her care needs with no outside support. It can be difficult to identify and define this type of care when it has become such an intrinsic part of everyday life. This risks that loss being undervalued or missed altogether.
‘It was vital to use the right medical and care experts to assess the needs of Paul’s wife now and in the future to ensure this part of the claim was calculated correctly. The strength of that evidence ensured Paul received a sum sufficient to provide care for his wife when he is no longer able to do so.
‘There has been significant progress in the treatment of mesothelioma in recent years. Without people like Paul stepping forward for clinical trials, this would have been impossible. While Paul’s condition has thankfully stabilised, should it progress, there are limited options open to him within the NHS, in part because of his previous involvement in a clinical trial. So ensuring the cost of future private medical treatment was covered was also particularly important to him.’
Leave a Reply