Claim for architect exposed to asbestos in the 1960s settles for a substantial six figure sum with less than a week to go to the trial

Mr W became ill in 2016 and was initially diagnosed with asthma. His condition continued to worsen, and further tests revealed that the cause of his problems was mesothelioma. Mr and Mrs W had retired to the coast and had purchased a substantial house with a large garden which Mr W remodelled and rebuilt both. He also helped with the care for Mrs W who had problems with arthritis and subsequently underwent a hip replacement operation.

Asbestos surveys indicated that the schools Mr W could recall working on still contained huge amounts of asbestos even now.

Mr W died in 2017 and as neither the Council nor Distillers were willing to admit responsibility for exposing him to asbestos court proceedings were commenced and a timetable was put in place to obtain expert engineering evidence. The claim was successful against Distillers, and more than £190000 in the autumn of 2018, shortly before a trail was due to take place.