Periodical Payments Used for Treatment of Mesothelioma
£500,000 Awarded in 2018
Immunotherapy uses our immune system to fight cancer. It works by helping the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. It is not currently licensed for use by the NHS to treat Mesothelioma even though it is licensed by Healthcare companies in the USA. This treatment is a very fast developing area of medicine, particularly for those with mesothelioma.
Until recently victims of mesothelioma may have been able to fund immunotherapy from the compensation they received.
However some cases can take time to build and the compensation may not be available to fund the treatment, so claimants settle early for lesser amounts.
This means that they often have to fund further treatments themselves.
However, our specialist mesothelioma lawyers are now making the case that Immunotherapy can be funded under a Periodical Payments Order. This means that the defendants agree to pay for the recommended immunotherapy treatment, so the claimants are not forced to accept a lower payment.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Engineer Mesothelioma Diagnosis
In the spring of 2018, our mesothelioma lawyers represented a victim of the cancer who was exposed to asbestos onboard Royal Navy ships. Under normal circumstances the Crown are except from prosecution prior to 1987, however, Mr K worked in a non-combat role as a maintenance engineer for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. He joined in 1970 and worked on the ships until he retired 30 years later. In the early years he had considerable exposure to asbestos from the lagging for the pipes and boilers.
Mr K began to feel unwell in 2016 and was diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly afterwards. He has managed to stay fairly active and healthy throughout, so he made the decision to not have chemotherapy or even Immunotherapy until or unless his condition worsened. However Mr K is a widower so he had to settle the claim himself or he would lose some of the compensation for loss of income as his life was likely to be shortened by mesothelioma.
So he faced the decision of settling the claim upfront and paying for the Immunotherapy treatment from the compensation, or waiting to see how he reacted to the treatment first to predict how much more it would cost. The latter option was risky as he may not have reacted well and not therefore in a position to claim the balance of his compensation.
Our lead solicitor and a barrister decided that the best course of action was to apply for periodic payments for the treatment. The compensation claim was settled in February 2018 for more than £500,000. However, the defendants then agreed to fund the Immunotherapy treatment and would continue to fund it for as long as his consultant recommended it.
If you have any questions about the availability of Immunotherapy as a treatment for mesothelioma, please contact us on (Freephone) 0800 923 0046.
Solicitor
Helen Childs
Lead Solicitor
Helen is our lead solicitor and a partner at Royds Withy King Solicitors. Helen is recognised as a Leading Lawyer by the Legal 500, where she is described as an exceptional partner with a huge capacity for work and an unerring willingness to fight for her clients and an excellent knowledge of asbestos litigation.. Read more >
