Joan’s Claim after Industrial Disease Leads to Death

Following the death of her husband, from a recognised industrial disease, we recovered compensation for Joan and her son to ensure security for their future.Joan is the widow of Peter who, in late 2002, was diagnosed with nasal adenocarcinoma – a fatal tumour of the nose. He had spent the previous 10 years working in a furniture assembly factory where he was a transport manager. The Barratts Personal Injury team helped him to bring a claim for damages against both the factory owners, and the transport company for whom he was employed. We contended that Peter’s employers had negligently exposed him to wood dust – and in particular hard wood dust. They knew, or should have known, that this causes nasal adenocarcinoma.

The Claim

Sadly, Peter died within 6 months of instructing us. His widow, Joan, took over the action.

The Defendants robustly denied any responsibility. They suggested that they had taken all possible precautions against this industrial disease. They also claimed that there was only a small amount of hard wood dust in the atmosphere. The Defendants argued that the cancer from which Peter died could have been caused by a variety of agents. They also suggested there was no definitive evidence that it was caused by exposure to dust.

All sides in the claim instructed engineers and cancer specialists. We obtained witness statements from no less than 21 of Peter’s colleagues who agreed that there was a dusty atmosphere in the factory. Finally, after very lengthy negotiations we were able to persuade the Defendants to make an offer. They offered just under £200,000. This was an extremely good settlement on a very complex case.