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 first step I took after going to see both William and John was to request a complete set of their medical records. Both men have been seen by their GPs regularly since they became ill. They have also each been sent to several hospitals so they could receive specialist treatment at chest clinics, have biopsies taken and have courses of radiotherapy.
The GPs and hospitals have up to 42 days to send us copies of medical records. Having said that, my requests for medical records usually explain that I need the records as soon as possible and most GPs and hospitals are happy to assist their patients by providing records as quickly as they can. I have been sent copies of William and John’s records already.
When reviewing both their medical records, it is clear that William and John have been exposed to asbestos in the past. Both men’s medical records confirm that unfortunately they are suffering with mesothelioma. The diagnosis of mesothelioma has been confirmed by a specialist doctor who looked at samples of their tumour under a microscope.
Doctors now believe that a link to exposure to asbestos can be made in around 90% of cases of mesothelioma, although the Department for Work and Pensions puts this figure at more like 98% of cases. John’s medical records show that he is also suffering with two other asbestos related conditions – pleural plaques and pleural thickening.
Pleural plaques are small areas of scarring on the inside of the lung which often develop as a result of exposure to asbestos. Pleural plaques hardly ever cause breathing difficulties but they are a common sign of exposure to asbestos. Pleural thickening occurs when the lining of the lung becomes damaged and gets thicker, meaning it may become less flexible and can restrict a sufferer’s ability to breathe properly. Again, pleural thickening is a condition which is often linked to exposure to asbestos. The information in John’s medical records strongly suggests that his mesothelioma developed as a result of exposure to asbestos because he has also developed other asbestos related diseases.
William’s medical records are even more conclusive. Like John, William has pleural plaques but he is also suffering with another asbestos related condition called asbestosis. William has fibrosis in the bottom part of his lung which the doctors say has a honeycomb shape. His doctors have concluded that this fibrosis is likely to be asbestosis. In order to develop asbestosis, doctors believe that the sufferer needs to have been heavily exposed to asbestos.
It is usually said that 1 year’s heavy exposure to asbestos, such as working as a lagger, or 5 years’ more moderate exposure, such as working near to laggers or periodically removing old asbestos, can lead to asbestosis. William told me about a lot of exposure to asbestos when he worked at the former nationalised industry and his medical records confirm that he has been heavily exposed. Heavy exposure to asbestos increases the chances that mesothelioma will develop so his records will be very helpful in proving the exposure to asbestos at work caused his illness.
Although both William and John were both quite heavily exposed to asbestos at work, it is not necessary to show heavy exposure to asbestos to link exposure to the development of mesothelioma. Medical research has shown exposure to even a small amount of asbestos can be sufficient to cause mesothelioma. It is perfectly possible to bring a claim whether a mesothelioma sufferer does not have pleural plaques, pleural thickening or asbestosis. As a final point, it never ceases to amaze my clients and witnesses that the research which proved that small amounts of asbestos could cause mesothelioma was carried out in the early 1960s.