School Caretaker develops Mesothelioma after cleaning boiler rooms
2013 - Mr S received payment of £110,000
According to a Government survery conducted in 2008, it is estimated that about 70% of school buildings contain asbestos, either in the walls, pipes or ceilings. Since 1980, more than 200 teachers have died of mesothelioma with around 140 teachers dying in the last decade. Mesothelioma has also taken the lives of caretakers, secretaries, cooks, cleaners and nursery nurses.
The following is an example of the many claims our solicitors have made on behalf of school teachers and other staff employed by schools.
Mr S was 82 at the onset of the symptoms of Mesothelioma.
Exposure to asbestos at several London Schools
Mr S was employed by London City Council and London Borough of Newham Council from 1960 - 1989. During this time he was a school caretaker at Brooke House School in Clapton from 1960 - 1962, at Roman Road School from 1962 – 1964 and at Brampton Manor School from 1964 – 1989.
Brooke House School was built on the site of an asylum which was bombed during the second world war. The LCC purchased the house and 5.5 acres of the Brooke House estate in 1944. Brooke House was demolished in 1954, Brooke House School was built on the site in 1960. Asbestos was used extensively in the pipes and boiler rooms of the rebuilt school. A Sixth Form College was opened on the site in September 2002.
As a school caretaker Mr S had to clean the boiler rooms at the various schools he worked at. The pipes and boilers in the boiler rooms were lagged with asbestos and were in a very poor state of repair.
One school he worked at had an asbestos corrugated roof and Mr S was often present when various maintenance and repair works were carried out on the schools. He often had to clean and sweep up after the work was completed. When Mr S worked at Brampton Manor in the 1970s, the school was extended and he recalls that asbestos may have been used. Again, he had to clean up after the workmen and may well have breathed in asbestos dust.
Mr S decided that he wanted to settle the mesothelioma claim on a lost years basis so that he knew his family would be financially secure, even though the claim may have been worth more on a dependency basis. Terms of settlement were agreed during the claimant's lifetime, unfortunately, the compensation was not received until after his death.
Have you been diagnosed with mesothelioma after asbestos exposure at a school?
If you have been exposed to asbestos while teaching or working at a school in the UK and have recently developed mesothelioma, we will be able to help you to claim compensation. Our mesothelioma solicitors have dealt with hundreds of similar cases and have recovered millions in compensation. Contact us on FreePhone 0800 923 0046 and ask for Kathy Cooke or Warren Miller.
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 >
