Welcome to the Case Studies of Higgins & Co.
Case Study 01
An out of Court settlement of £215,000 damages was agreed on behalf of a former railway employee who had been exposed to asbestos in the 1950s when working on the overhaul of steam locomotives. He developed mesothelioma at the age of 68.
Case Study 02
Damages of £66,000 were agreed on behalf of an 84 year old former electrician who developed asbestosis as a result of working alongside laggers in a Power Station.
Case Study 03
Damages of £200,000 were agreed on behalf of the widow of a former heating engineer who died from mesothelioma at the age of 49.
Case Study 04
A settlement of £177,000 was agreed on behalf of the widow of a former steel erector who died from mesothelioma at the age of 58 as a result of asbestos exposure over a period of four years in a Power Station in the 1960s.
Case Study 05
Male Claimant 37 years of age at date of accident on 21/02/01. Defendant's vehicle leaked oil/diesel onto the highway causing another vehicle to lose control and collide with the Claimant's vehicle. Claimant suffered multiple injuries, the most serious of which was a fracture to the right knee which led to his early retirement as a partner in a construction business. Complex issues of future loss. Claim settled in 2007 for a gross settlement figure of £525,000.
Case Study 06
Male Claimant 45 years of age at date of road traffic accident on the 8th October 2001. Defendant emerged from a side road and knocked the Claimant from his motorcycle. Liability vigorously disputed and Defendant relied on allegation that Claimant's headlights were not illuminated at the material time. Claimant suffered multiple injuries of the utmost severity. Claim settled in 2007 for a gross settlement figure of £312,996.45.
Case Study 07
Male Claimant 31 years of age at date of road traffic accident in September 2002. Claimant uninsured at material time but was injured when Defendant emerged from a side road on a privately owned industrial estate, knocking the Claimant from his motorcycle and causing severe injuries to the Claimant, the most serious of which was a fracture to the left knee which resulted in the Claimant having to undergo ligament reconstruction surgery. Complex issues of future loss. Claim settled in the gross sum of £109,500 following a full day settlement conference in 2007.
Case Study 08
Female Claimant 73 years of age at date of accident in November 2005. Defendant emerged from a side road and into collision with the Claimant's vehicle which had right of way. Claimant suffered soft tissue injuries to the neck and back. Liability admitted but Defendant's Insurers refused to make realistic offer in respect of quantum. Claim dealt with at disposal hearing. Claimant ultimately awarded £2,725, bettering the Defendant's Part 36 Offer by nearly £1,000. Costs awarded against the Defendant's Insurers on the indemnity basis.
Case Study 09
Claimant female aged 44, self employed Accountant.
In January 2004 drove into collision with a cow that had escaped onto the highway causing car to be written off and the Claimant to sustain physical and psychiatric injuries.
Liability firmly denied by owners of the Farm from which cow had escaped.
Detailed Advice from Barrister expressed reservations as to the prospects of the case. Following extensive negotiations liability was finally agreed on a 50/50 basis. This was an excellent result for a Claimant who may not have received any compensation whatsoever.
Case Study 10
Claimant male lorry driver, aged 44 years.
Claimant was rider of a motorcycle with pillion passenger.
At a set of temporary traffic lights the Claimant overtook a line of traffic when the Defendant pulled through the line of traffic from a side road with the intention of turning right.
The Claimant and his passenger were thrown from the bike and were badly injured.
The Defendant's Insurers sought to deny liability and offered to settle on a 20/80 basis in favour of the car driver, relying on the pro Defendant case of Powell -v- Moody. A Barrister felt this offer should seriously be considered.
We managed to secure an offer of 50/50 on liability, 30% more than the Claimant would have received if the Defendant's Offer had been accepted.
An offer was accepted for £60,000 for injuries, loss of earnings and nursing care.
The Claimant received £30,000 net of the agreed split liability.
Case Study 11
The Claimant motorcyclist was overtaking the Defendant's motor car when the Defendant's motor car pulled out to overtake a vehicle in front of it. The Claimant motorcyclist sustained catastrophic injuries, including a leg amputation and numerous fractures. The Police commenced a prosecution against the Claimant motorcyclist for the offence of driving without due care and attention.
These criminal proceedings were later withdrawn, following representations by ourselves. The matter proceeded on a "No Win, No Fee" basis. Liability was fully disputed to trial. The matter settled at the doors of the Court at 75/25 in the Claimant motorcyclist's favour.
The issue of the value of the claim also proceeded on a fully contested basis and a court date was set for the assessment of damages. Just before the hearing compensation was agreed at over £300,000.
Case Study 12
An employee seriously injured his shoulder working on a ship in dry dock. The injury, whilst not preventing him from returning to alternative employment, did prevent him from returning to his pre-accident employment. Liability was denied, with both the dockyard and the shipping line respectively denying liability and blaming each other in any event. The matter proceeded towards a fully contested trial and liability was eventually admitted in full just before trial with the two Defendants agreeing an apportionment of liability between themselves.
The serious nature of the shoulder injury meant that further surgery was required and extensive rehabilitation undertaken. The case eventually settled for over £220,000.
Case Study 13
Our client was diagnosed with fibrosis at the age of 63 and subsequently died from lung cancer. There was a question as to whether the fibrosis and lung cancer were asbestos related or due to natural causes and so specialist medical evidence was obtained to determine a diagnosis of asbestosis and asbestos related lung cancer. Our client had been exposed to asbestos as a pipe fitter/welder between 1954 and 1978 with ten different employers, six of which were no longer trading or dissolved. After extensive investigations, the relevant insurers were identified for all the defunct employers so that our client's widow was able to proceed with a claim for damages against all ten Defendants. Our client had also been exposed to asbestos during a period of self employment between 1978 and 1996. The claim for damages against his ten former employers ultimately settled for £140,000, which was net of an agreed reduction of 30% for the period of exposure during self employment.
Case Study 14
Our client contacted us after his father had died from asbestos related mesothelioma at the age of 73. Our client believed it was likely that his father would have been exposed to asbestos during his employment as a carpenter/joiner at a shipyard in the 1950s, however no details of any such exposure were actually known. The identity of any potential Defendant was also unclear as it was not known whether his father had been employed direct by the shipyard or whether he had been contracted to work there by a different employer as was common in those days. There were no longer any work records in existence to confirm the identity of the employer and this period in the 1950s pre-dated any records held by the Inland Revenue. Extensive investigations were carried out into identifying the correct Defendant and tracing others who had worked at the same shipyard in the 1950s as carpenters or joiners to provide witness evidence as to the likelihood of asbestos exposure in that particular job. On the face of the evidence gathered, a liability admission was ultimately secured from the shipyard company. Based upon medical evidence confirming that our client's father had died from mesothelioma but had also suffered from other significant health problems which would have severely curtailed his life expectancy in any event, our client recovered damages in excess of £52,000 on behalf of his late father's estate.
Case Study 15
Our client was diagnosed with asbestosis with a 10% breathing disability, having been exposed to asbestos as an apprentice fitter between 1960 and 1966. The Defendant company was dissolved and their insurers were also no longer trading. At the age of 60, our client secured a provisional damages settlement of £22,500, under the terms of which he was entitled to return for additional compensation at any point in the future in the event that his asbestosis progressed over and above the expected prognosis or in the event that he subsequently developed asbestos related pleural thickening, lung cancer or mesothelioma. Our client's damages claim was met by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, under which 90% of damages are paid by the FSCS where both a Defendant and its insurers are no longer trading and so no longer have any funds to meet the claim for damages.
Case Study 16
Our 64 year old client secured a damages settlement of £32,500 after being exposed to asbestos by two different employers in the 1950s/60s/70s as a draftsman working at various shipyards. The medical evidence confirmed that our client had developed asbestos related pleural thickening with a 25% breathing disability.
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