Corries win asbestos cancer claim for £150,000 in memorable case turned down twice before

Corries have won £150,000 for a widow in an asbestos cancer case which took four years to settle. Corries are asbestos claims specialists. No one works harder to for asbestos victims than us. Call us FREE on 0800 083 7839

Asbestos cancer case turned down by others

Our firm was approached in 2017 by Mrs W. Her husband had died four months earlier. In January 2016 she and her husband were visited by a solicitor from a firm of solicitors recommended by an asbestos support group.

The solicitor took details but was not convinced there was a claim. Based on this gloomy outlook the couple decided not to bother making a claim. They got £14,000 from a government scheme and thought that was all they would get.

Mrs Wood came to Corries in response to an advert we placed in the national media. We have had history of winning cases dropped by others https://www.corries.co.uk/?s=second+opinion

A more thorough look

We got hold of the previous solicitor file and went through the late Mr W’s work history with his wife. They had not met and married until 1994 so much of his earlier working life was not known to her. However she was very clear that once they were together she saw him every day coming home from work covered in building work muck and dust.

Our team gathered what evidence we could, got a medical expert to produce a report and had the case put to the insurers of the last employer in Mr W’s working life. We awaited their reply

The battle starts again

The insurers of the last employer did not react well to the claim. They denied everything. The main argument was that we had missed exposure to asbestos with other companies earlier on in Mr W’s life.

We simply did not have any evidence to make those claims. Our firm pushed the for the next two years in the hope the case could settle. Proceedings were issued.

A second rejection

We instructed a barrister to help us. He looked at the case but did not share our confidence. The case was turned down by him as well. We were left to fight the case alone.

Pushing for victory

We were always sure that Mrs W would be a good witness at trial. She had worked in solicitors offices and had run her own business. We provided further statement to the defendants. They produced their own statements which confirmed that the firm did not use asbestos.

Then a break in the clouds appeared. The Defendants were made to disclose documents. They sent us a huge box of timesheets which they said confirmed there was no asbestos used. They expected us to throw in the towel.

We went through the timesheets carefully. They were hard to read but we found entries that showed that the late Mr W did work with asbestos with the defendant. Our team went through them with Mrs W who kept diaries of her husband’s work.

We invited the defendant to think again about the denial of the claim. We got our barrister back on board to pick up the court proceedings once more.

The win – and justice at last

A final and robust statement from Mrs W was put to the defendants. Shortly after, with the threat of a court hearing to decide if they could defend the claim, the insurers lawyers got in touch. They quickly wrapped up settlement close to our case valuation.

Mrs W was delighted and was spared the trauma of a court hearing to argue her claim. The defendants also have to bear Corries costs which were much higher because of the repeated denial of the claim.

Asbestos cancer victory – the summary

Howard Bonnett, Corries Director and solicitor who won the case commented;

“I have been working in asbestos claim cases for 31 years. This case will always stand out to me. All too often other solicitors or barristers will turn down the difficult cases. Insurers are all to keen to simply say no to a claim without looking at it properly.

I knew in my bones that this was a decent case and one for which Mrs W should get justice. Many solicitors would have turned the case down and let it lie. Not me or my team. We fight for every asbestos victim we represent. My lawyers are not simple postboxes for handling cases. If we think there’s a case then we fight for it.

I knew that this case would come good. I had my client ready for a court battle and her persistence and my own bore fruit. And it was even sweeter knowing what a fight we had needed to put up.

I will use this case going forward to show my team how we should not give up on a claim unless it is absolutely done. I have an extremely happy client and a team who helped me win the case feeling very proud indeed”

Asbestos claims – can we help you?

Our team often take on and win cases turned down by others. If you have had a claim in the last three years and not been paid compensation then give our team a call. We can talk to you on a no obligation basis. In addition, we offer a free review of your solicitors file if you have failed to get paid out.

Call us today FREE on 0800 783 7839.