Compensation for family of auditor exposed to asbestos whilst working for SGS United Kingdom Limited

TK’s job with SGS United Kingdom Limited involved visiting all kinds of commercial and public buildings carrying out environmental management assessments, including assessing the risk of legionella from air conditioning systems. She frequently came across asbestos materials in a poor state of repair, including asbestos walls and ceilings that had been drilled into without any precautionary measures having been taken. She visited boiler houses, plant rooms and service tunnels to carry out inspection work and often encountered broken asbestos insulation.

Having been contacted by TK, we visited her at her home and prepared a witness statement outlining her employment history and the details of her asbestos exposure with SGS United Kingdom Limited.

TK commenced chemotherapy treatment shortly after her diagnosis with mesothelioma. She contracted Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic and sadly died. Doctors believed she would have survived had she not developed mesothelioma.

TK unfortunately died before she was able to review and sign her witness statement. She was only 63 years old when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma and was working as a Head of Department managing a team of auditors. She planned to work for a few more years before retiring and then emigrating to Hawaii to live near her daughter, a hospital doctor, and her young grandchild. She enjoyed travelling to Hawaii to spend time with both of them and was due to become a grandmother for the second time when she died. Her intention was to help with the care of her grandchildren and to provide wraparound care when they started school.

TK’s claim was heavily contested both on liability and over whether TK would have emigrated to Hawaii and provided care to her grandchildren. We were able to obtain evidence about TK’s intention to emigrate to Hawaii by taking a witness statement from the immigration lawyer who advised her daughter, and providing copies of emails and text messages (translated from her native Bulgarian) she had sent her daughter as part of her plans to emigrate.

Settlement was achieved including provision for replacement childcare costs for TK’s grandchildren.