I am a solicitor in the Asbestos Diseases Litigation team in Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office.  My blog will follow two mesothelioma sufferers 'William' and 'John' through the compensation process in real time to show how claims work and to highlight some of the issues that may arise.

The weeks and months after a diagnosis are very difficult ones for the sufferer and their family.  Everyone has to come to terms with the shocking news that the sufferer has cancer and that there is no cure is incredibly hard.  They also have to start making plans for their future and that of their family. 

William and John have told me that they have never been so popular.  They have both been to see their GPs, chest physicians, oncologists and lung cancer nurses.  Everyone wants to help them and they have been overwhelmed by the amount of information that they have been given in the last few weeks.  I talked them through a compensation claim and was also able to help them understand some of the other information that they have been given recently.  Although I am there to run the compensation claim for the client, I like to think they can come to me for more general help and advice as and when they need it.

For both men, the civil claim will take several months to resolve so they need access to benefits now to help them through their illness.  Part of my first meeting with both men was spent talking to them about the state benefits they are entitled to.  William is already well on the way to getting his Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and his lump sum payment under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme 2008 and has received some great support from his lung cancer nurse.

John was a little more reluctant to claim his benefits.  He was proud to tell me that he had worked since the age of 15 and had never claimed Income Support, for example.  I reassured him that these benefits were for mesothelioma victims like him who are no-longer able to work because of their work-related illness and who might need a lot of care in the future.  I also reminded John that he had been paying his national insurance for more than 40 years so he had no need to feel embarrassed about applying for benefits.  I helped John fill out the form for his IIDB and will help him with his lump sum payment shortly.

I find that my clients often find the state benefits open to them a very intimidating and confusing process.  Some get help from lung cancer nurses or welfare benefits advisors but very often we are happy to roll our sleeves up and assist with this process.  I would encourage any sufferers to make a claim for those benefits and the others such as Attendance Allowance and Constant Attendance Allowance.  The benefits are there to help you at the end of the day and, even if you are bringing a claim through the courts, they will usually be paid more promptly.  If a compensation claim is successful, the final settlement would take into account the state benefits paid.  However you would never have to actually repay them yourself so applying is a very worthwhile exercise.

Read our guide which will help you through the benefits process