Mesothelioma Claims
Check if you can claim compensation
If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma after asbestos exposure, you may be able to claim compensation. We handle mesothelioma claims on a No Win No Fee basis, including where the employer closed down years ago.
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Can you make a mesothelioma claim?
If an employer or another party exposed you to asbestos when they should have protected you, you can make a claim. Family members can claim too, both while someone is living with the diagnosis and after they have died.
One point matters more than any other, because it stops people before they start. You do not have to prove which job, which year or which fibre caused the disease. The law accepts that this is impossible with mesothelioma, so an employer who wrongly exposed you can be held responsible for the whole of the harm, even if you worked with asbestos elsewhere as well. Half-remembered dates and a patchy work history are normal, and they are our problem to sort out, not yours.
An illness that arrives decades after the work
Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos, and it takes a very long time to appear. The exposure behind a diagnosis today usually happened in the 1950s to the 1980s, in workplaces where asbestos was cut, drilled, stripped out or simply left to deteriorate around people who were told nothing about it.
By the time the disease shows itself, the job is a lifetime ago and the company may be long gone. That gap is precisely what the law on these claims was built to deal with, and it is the reason so many people wrongly assume nothing can be done.
people died from mesothelioma in Great Britain in 2024
Because mesothelioma can take decades to develop, many current deaths reflect asbestos exposure that occurred before the 1980s. If an employer’s negligence caused the exposure, this may support a compensation claim.
The work behind most mesothelioma claims
If your working life is not on this list, it does not mean you were not exposed. Tell us where you worked and we will look into it.
Building and construction
Joiners, laggers, electricians, roofers and labourers who cut asbestos board, drilled through it, or worked alongside those who did.
Shipyards and dockyards
Boilermakers, welders, fitters and dockers working in engine rooms and confined spaces where asbestos lagging was everywhere.
Power stations and factories
Turbine halls, boiler houses and production lines where insulation was stripped and replaced during shutdowns and maintenance.
Plumbing, heating and engineering
Pipe fitters and heating engineers who removed lagging from pipework and boilers, often in cramped roof spaces and basements.
Schools, hospitals and public buildings
Teachers, nurses, caretakers and maintenance staff in buildings where asbestos was present and deteriorating around them.
Exposure at second hand
Partners and children who washed overalls or shook out work clothes. You do not need to have worked with asbestos yourself, though for exposure before the mid 1960s these claims are harder to bring.
Payments that do not wait for the claim
A claim against a former employer is not the only money available after an asbestos diagnosis, and it is not the quickest. There are state payments for asbestos disease that nobody has to be proved at fault to receive, and they can be applied for straight away while the claim itself is still being built.
Taking them does not stop you claiming compensation as well. Where a claim later succeeds, the award can be reduced to reflect what the state has already paid, so the practical effect is one of timing: money reaches you sooner. The deadlines are short and easily missed, which is why we raise this in the first conversation rather than months in.
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is a no fault scheme, so you do not have to show that anyone was negligent
- You can apply for it and pursue a claim against an employer at the same time
- Where the employer has stopped trading, a lump sum may be payable under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979
- That lump sum normally has to be applied for within 12 months of an Industrial Injuries award, or within 12 months of the death where a family applies
We will tell you which of these apply to you and by when, so nothing lapses while your claim is being prepared.
- The illness itself, the symptoms and what it has taken from daily life
- Care at home, equipment and adaptations, including care given by family
- Treatment costs, including private treatment where it is reasonable
- Lost earnings and pension, and the loss to a family that depended on them
What compensation is meant to cover
Compensation cannot undo a diagnosis. What it can do is take the financial weight off a family at the point when time and energy matter most: paying for care and treatment, replacing lost income, and providing for people who depended on that income.
Every claim is valued on its own facts, so we will not put a figure on yours before the evidence supports one. We will always be straight with you about what the claim is likely to include.
Evidence in an asbestos claim
These claims are built on working life, not paperwork you are expected to have kept. Most of what follows we gather ourselves.
Cannot remember the details? Nobody can, fifty years on. Rough dates and a company name are enough to start, and we build the rest from records.
No Win No Fee mesothelioma claims
There is nothing to pay to start, and if the claim does not succeed you will not pay for our work, subject to the terms of your agreement. If it succeeds, a success fee agreed with you at the outset comes out of the compensation.
We can come to you, at home or in hospital, and we can work around treatment and the days when you are not up to it. Nothing about this needs to be exhausting for you.
A family member can deal with us on your behalf if you would rather they did.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before starting your claim.
Who can bring mesothelioma claims?
Anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma who was exposed to asbestos through someone else’s failure to protect them, whether that was an employer, an occupier of a building, or a family member’s workplace sending dust home on their clothes. Where the person has died, close family and the estate can bring the claim instead. A free conversation with our team will tell you where you stand.
The company I worked for no longer exists. Can I still claim?
Usually, yes. A former employer’s closure does not necessarily prevent a claim. Compensation is normally handled by the employers’ liability insurer that covered the business when the asbestos exposure occurred, and historic policies can often be traced. Where necessary, a dissolved company may be restored to the register. If no responsible employer or insurer can be traced, the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme may be available. It covers eligible diagnoses made on or after 25 July 2012, and applications must normally be made within three years of diagnosis.
Can I claim compensation for mesothelioma after death?
Yes. A claim can be brought by the person’s estate and by close family who depended on them, covering what your relative went through, the care given to them, and the financial loss to the household. Certain family members may also be entitled to a fixed bereavement award. The time limit generally runs for three years from the death, or from when the family learned that asbestos was the cause. If a claim was already underway when the person died, it can continue.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Generally three years, running from the diagnosis rather than from the exposure, which is why work done half a century ago is still claimable. Where someone has died, the three years usually runs from the death or from when the cause became known. Courts also have a discretion to allow claims outside the limit in some circumstances. If you think you may be out of time, ask before you assume it.
How long do mesothelioma claims take?
Less time than most claims. The courts recognise how serious this illness is and can put a living claimant’s case on a much faster timetable than a standard personal injury claim, with insurers required to justify any delay. Interim payments can often be obtained before the claim concludes, so money for care and treatment does not have to wait for the final settlement.
Do I have to go to court?
Almost certainly not. Most claims settle without anyone attending a hearing, and court proceedings are often issued simply to keep a case moving quickly rather than because a trial is expected. Where evidence is needed from someone who is unwell, arrangements can be made to take it at home rather than in a courtroom.
Find out where you stand
Tell us where the asbestos work was and when the diagnosis came. You do not need dates, documents or the name of an insurer. We will look into it and come back to you with an honest answer.
- Free, no-obligation review
- No Win No Fee available
- SRA-regulated solicitors
Check if you can make a claim
Takes less than 60 seconds
Not sure if you have a claim?
Most people who ring us are not sure the work they did counts, or think too much time has passed. Tell us where you worked and we will give you an honest answer about mesothelioma claims, free and with no obligation. We can come to you, and a member of your family is welcome to make the call instead.
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