Asbestos case turned down? Corries might be able to offer a lifeline

Corries have been experiencing success with a number of asbestos cases turned down by other people.

It begs the question to anyone who has had a potential asbestos claim turned down – is it worth looking at this again?

Corries are leading asbestos claims solicitors. No one tries harder to get you the compensation you deserve. Call us FREE on 0800 083 7839.

Why has my asbestos claim been turned down?

There can be a number of reasons why a claim for asbestos compensation has been turned down. Some examples include:-

• The medical diagnosis does not stand up i.e it is not asbestos disease but something else
• The case is out of time – the three year rule
• There are no traced defendants to meet the claim
• You have had advice from a doctor, lawyer or support group that you do not have a claim

Asbestos case turned down – medical reasons

A common problem that we see is that very often people may start some investigations into their lung health and asbestos may be playing a part. For a reasonable claim to be made we need to show several aspects including:-

Asbestos changes on x rays or scans – there must be signs of some damage. About 90% of the people who call us have Asbestos related pleural plaques. They are a benign condition with no compensation available in England and Wales for that condition. If that is the extent of your diagnosis then we can offer you a place on out FREE Pleural plaque register. However, for some people there may be something missed. Finding asbestos disease on chest x rays can be difficult and often can be missed. CT scans are a more accurate method to find asbestos disease.

We have noted over the years that sometimes the radiologists reporting on the scans do not have great experience with asbestos disease and the use of wording and the understanding of the extent of any asbestos disease is often missed. We recommend that you ask the hospital or your G.P for a copy of the radiology report.

Asbestos case rejected (2)

Secondly we need lung function test results. These typically hone in on the FEV1 (one second) test and the FVC (full breath out) test. if this are within 80% of what you would expect then the medical team will tell you that this is normal. We have many cases where people are sent away assuming nothing is wrong when the early signs of asbestos disease are playing a part. This can typically mean the end of any investigations. However the way the body changes the oxygen from the air into your blood is often overlooked. In addition the previous physical health of someone who was much fitter than other of their age is often mot taken into account. Our lawyers take the time to look into this in more detail.

Thirdly the description of the lung history and the changes the person has noted are important. A person’s history and ruling out other causes for lung problems could deny many a claim where asbestos disease may be playing a part in their lung decline.

Many people could be missing out due to these oversights. At Corries we encourage people to question and be satisfied if they are told they do not have a claim.

Asbestos claim – I am out of time!

There is a three year rule in place for all personal injury claims including asbestos disease. This date runs from the date you were told you had asbestos disease. See our link here https://www.corries.co.uk/bringing-claim-time-3-years-important/

In many cases the medical team will clearly explain this to you. You may get leaflets or get referred to support groups or to agencies such as Help The Aged or Citizens Advice. However for many people understanding what they have been told or what they can do is hard. Conversations can be missed, words not understood or language not clearly conveyed by the medical team.

Coming to a set of medical records later often derails a case where the lawyer thinks a person has been told more than three years ago. We often see cases where this is a reason for a quick turn down of a case.

In our experience people need to work harder at what was said, what was understood and why a person did not act when they were told about asbestos disease. At Corries our lawyers go through the history very carefully and if we think a court would possibly allow the claim out of time we will join you in trying to make a claim.

Asbestos claim rejected – there is no defendant!

A common problem is that for many people the companies they worked for many years ago have long since got out of business. Secondly any insurance policies they may have taken out have long since been destroyed or lost.

In such cases making a claim will be very difficult. However at Corries we are happy to make some investigations if your case has been turned down by another lawyer because they could not find someone to pay the claim.
We would hate to see a claim turned down because harder work could have been done to find a paymaster.

Asbestos case turned down – someone told me I had no claim!

There can be different reasons why you have been stopped from making a claim.

If a doctor has told you that you have no claim then in most cases this will be the end of the matter. However as mentioned above we encourage people to look into this. Letters following on from chest clinic appointments can be obtained free of charge from your G.P. Send them to us and we can see what was said and explain what it means and if we can help you.

If a lawyer has told you that you do not have a claim then send us the letter of advice you have got. Our firm offers a FREE second opinion service to review your previous solicitors file. We shall see why you had a claim turned down. We see on many occasions that the previous solicitor was right. However our news page show we have taken over many cases turned down by other lawyers – and won them.

Finally we have had experience of Asbestos Support groups advising people that they do not have a claim. In some cases they have been wrong. If your case has been turned down then we are happy to listen to you and to check what they said. The groups do great work throughout the country. Our team is headed by a solicitor with over 31 years of experience of asbestos claims.

Call us – our FREE second opinion service

Our team are always prepared to listen to someone who has had a claim turned down. After the pandemic many people are getting back to normal. Many who had possible claims have missed out. We do not want to see any more people miss out on vital compensation. This is particularly fitting during the current financial cost of living crisis.

Call our team for FREE on 0800 083 7839. If we can help we promise we will. If we cannot we will tell you.