Travelling with mesothelioma: a patient's positive experiences
Widow on reduced pension struggles before receiving compensation
Fitter diagnosed only days before his death
Dockyard boilermaker worked for Ministry of Defence
BT technician initially could not remember asbestos exposure

Travelling with mesothelioma: a patient's positive experiences
We hope this article will prove useful to anyone who is suffering from mesothelioma and considering travel.

When Maggie and Alan’s eldest son emigrated to Australia in 2010, he asked his parents to spend Christmas 2011 with him and his fiancée in Adelaide.

Maggie had started experiencing pains across her back and shoulder at the beginning of 2011. At first, they thought indigestion to be the likely cause. The pain got worse, however, and after further tests, Maggie was told that she had a large tumour. This was identified in early May as Mesothelioma. Over the course of the summer, she agreed to a course of palliative chemotherapy but unfortunately reacted badly to it. The pain kept increasing and controlling it was made more difficult by Maggie’s violent reaction to any morphine-based drug. As a consequence, the summer was a complete write-off and any prospect of travelling to Australia looked highly unlikely.

Fortunately, Maggie’s oncologist was determined to give her some quality of life back. Together with her GP and the palliative care team at a hospice, they managed to find a drug regime that offered a degree of pain relief, enabling her to get back some strength. After resigning themselves to staying at home, around September Maggie and Alan began to think that they might actually be spending Christmas in Australia, after all.

The trip took a lot of preparation. Maggie’s oncologist continued to give them great moral support, emphasising that Maggie was still a very fit and strong lady. Provided they took precautionary measures, she saw no reason why they both shouldn’t make the journey. She did, however, note that Australia was a very long way away!

The oncologist also offered to provide a complete record on disk of Maggie’s medical notes, prescribe a course of antibiotics (to be taken if Maggie picked up an infection during the flight) and to administer a treatment of radiotherapy, aimed at reducing Maggie’s level of pain. She also recommended that Maggie wear support stockings to minimise the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis and to check her oxygen levels prior to departure, so that, if needed, they could arrange with the airline for extra oxygen to be provided.

Despite all this support and advice, Maggie and Alan still couldn’t bring themselves to book tickets – not least because they were daunted by the length of the flights. To boost their flying confidence, Maggie booked a holiday closer to home – though still a fair distance - Tenerife. Before flying, Maggie had her oxygen levels checked (95+%) and packed the pills from the oncologist. All went well: the flights were on time, the hotel was wonderful and the sun shone all week.

Before setting off, the couple also looked at the availability of wheelchairs and mobility aids on the island. Although there was a wide range of these available, fortunately they did not need to use any of them on this holiday.

Maggie now felt prepared for Australia, so she and Alan looked into getting insurance cover. Their usual insurers said that Maggie would be covered for personal injury, as long as this wasn’t a result of her cancer. They also said Maggie wouldn’t get any committed costs reimbursed, if they had to cancel the holiday because of her cancer.

The insurance company also advised Maggie that she would not get cover if she was still undergoing treatment. The couple advised their insurers that she was likely to have a session of palliative radiotherapy around the middle of November; the insurers said although they would not offer cover with radiotherapy on the horizon, the couple should call back as soon as treatment was over. This they did, and were quoted a premium of £290 with an excess of £500 related to any problem arising as a result of the Mesothelioma.

The offer of cover boosted the couple’s confidence enough for them to book return flights direct to Adelaide. They had deliberated about stopping over in Singapore but eventually decided just to change planes there. With Maggie’s vast cocktail of pills distributed though their suitcases and hand luggage, copies of her prescriptions and doctor’s letter and a TENS set in the suitcase, they set off.

During the second half of the 13-hour flight to Singapore, Maggie suffered quite a bit of sickness and headaches. The five-hour layover helped things settle down, but when airborne again, Maggie felt pretty rough. Although they didn’t need a doctor in Adelaide, they decided to seek advice before embarking on the return journey.

Alan and Maggie had a fantastic time over Christmas and the New Year: Maggie remained relatively pain-free, swimming in the sea Christmas morning, watching a firework display on the beach to see in the New Year, and well enough to explore the city and its surrounding areas. The wheelchair they hired for the whole trip proved extremely useful for times when Maggie needed a break.

They also made use of the UK/Australia reciprocal medical agreement. By presenting her passport at a Medicare Centre, Maggie was given a temporary medical card, meaning she could simply walk into any surgery and see a doctor, which she did from time to time for check-ups. When her blood pressure was high, a doctor prescribed more pills. All they had to pay was the prescription charge - as this was small and medical treatment was free, they didn’t need to make any claims on their insurance.

After such an enjoyable extended break, the return flights were extremely exhausting – 21 hours flying almost non-stop. The effects of the radiotherapy began to wear off a couple of days before the journey home, so Maggie started using the TENS machine and pads for pain relief. Taking it in hand luggage didn’t prove a problem, as the couple also carried the appropriate paperwork, and they sailed through security with no questions asked.

On their return to the UK, Maggie had a particularly prolonged period of fatigue from the jetlag. She recovered from it, however, and after a further round of radiotherapy she is not only reminiscing about the last adventure but is talking about planning the next one!

Widow on reduced pension struggles before receiving compensation
At the time of his diagnosis with mesothelioma, Mr O did not consider making a claim for compensation. After his death, his widow found that she could not manage on the reduced pension she was receiving. She contacted the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, who suggested that she make a claim for compensation even though her husband had died. The claim was not straightforward, as Mr O had not told anyone about his exposure to asbestos when working for various companies as a plumber. In spite of this, we were able to search the local archives and speak to former colleagues of Mr O, who confirmed that he was exposed to asbestos. The insurer of the main contractor for which Mr O worked early in his career accepted responsibility and the claim was settled for £170,000 within 10 months of the first appointment. Mrs O is now financially secure.
"Thank you so much for all the help and kind support you have given me.  You were like friends rather than solicitors to me and I am very grateful for your patience and understanding."
Mrs O.

Fitter diagnosed only days before his death
Mr R worked as a fitter/machinist at the smelting works in Avonmouth. He was exposed to asbestos when maintaining and repairing pipes and equipment that were lagged with asbestos. He was 86 at the time of his diagnosis.  Up until his admission to hospital he had lived independently and had enjoyed an active life. His family asked us to see him in hospital and we were able to take evidence from him at his bedside. He sadly died a few days later. The evidence given at the hospital was sufficient to support a claim and the insurers of his employers admitted that they had acted wrongly in allowing him to be exposed to asbestos. Mr R’s Estate agreed a negotiated settlement of £75,000 (before deductible benefits) just seven months after the first appointment. His son said “the whole process has been much quicker and produced more compensation than I had expected.  I am very glad to have used Lyons Davidson.”

Dockyard boilermaker worked for Ministry of DefenceMr J was in his late sixties when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He had been exposed to asbestos after many years of work at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth as a boilermaker. His work brought him into daily contact with asbestos fibres.  The Ministry of Defence readily admitted that their negligence had caused his condition. His claim was settled by negotiated agreement within a year of his diagnosis. The Ministry of Defence paid £129,000 in compensation.

BT technician initially could not remember asbestos exposure
Mr P was retired when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 74.  At our first meeting, Mr P was unable to recall where he had been exposed to asbestos.  This made the claim challenging, as we had to trace and interview former work colleagues of Mr P to identify the source of his asbestos exposure. We were successful in identifying that he had been exposed to asbestos while working as a labourer for BT Plc in the Bristol area.  A substantial interim payment was obtained for the client within five months and the claim was settled in its entirety for £120,000 (before deductible benefits) just nine months after the initial appointment.

We are happy to give free initial advice over the telephone to help you to understand what might be involved in making a claim for compensation.  Please just give us a ring for an informal chat. Call 0800 694 0113.