Asbestosis claim

Nickyno

My FIL passed away earlier this year. On his death certificate cause of death was due to 4 things one of which was asbestosis.  Does anyone know if we as a family would be able to claim compensation? What information would we need? And where would we start?

Thanks in advance

Bradden

Who would you like to claim compensation from?

Emmia

Where might he have been exposed to Asbestos? 

It is possible he picked it up doing his own DIY (not sure who you claim against then, other than yourselves!), or at work - and if that's the case you'd be looking at a former employer, but that might depend on the job he had and whether they're still operating

And it's one of 4 causes of death, rather than a sole cause.

elsien

It’s not as simple as just having a diagnosis. Finding out when and where he was exposed, for example. Whether the company is still on business. If he worked for several places, which one to chase. 

You as a family wouldn’t be able to claim anything. Any claim would need to be brought by a representative – the executor of a will, for example, and his spouse or children or anyone financially dependent on him. Most likely via a no-win no fee lawyer who would take a chunk of anything you did get.

If his direct relatives want to take it further, that would probably be the starting point, because if they won’t take it out on it’s because there is little chance of success. 

Keep_pedalling

Your other thread said he was in his teens / 20s when he was exposed but was not diagnosed before his death at the age of 80. Coupled with a number of other causes of death I think your chances are slim to zero.

Did he leave a widow or dependant children?

Loza2016

I don’t know the full details and wouldn’t like to ask but I do know a few years ago a family received compensation for this even though the gentleman had been self employed. I’m sure they received it from some sort of government scheme.    

NedS

Loza2016 said:

I don’t know the full details and wouldn’t like to ask but I do know a few years ago a family received compensation for this even though the gentleman had been self employed. I’m sure they received it from some sort of government scheme.    

Have you tried searching on www.gov.uk?

A search for "asbestos compensation" on www.gov.uk finds this:

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm42813

which may give you an entry point for more research.