Helena qualified in 2004 after several years of working as a paralegal in the Personal Injury field.  She joined Oliver & Co. in September 2006 and joined the Industrial Disease Department very shortly after whilst still maintaining her involvement in Personal Injury.  Helena handles a wide variety of cases including road traffic accidents, accidents at work, repetitive strain injuries (RSI), vibration white finger claims and dermatitis claims.  However her main area of specialism is asbestos disease and these compensation claims form the largest part of her caseload. 

Helena has settled a claim for a family who lost their father to asbestos related lung cancer.  Lung cancer claims are extremely difficult to win with a heavy burden of evidence upon the Claimant.  The deceased was a heavy smoker but Helena was able to obtain medical evidence to support the link between his exposure to asbestos and the development of lung cancer, and successfully obtained a significant sum for the family. 

Helena has also had successful outcomes in claims for compensation for mesothelioma and pleural thickening, caused by exposure to asbestos many years ago.  An awared of compensation was obtained for a widow who lost her husband to mesothelioma due to his exposure to asbestos whilst employed by Ford Motor Company.  He had been her main carer but as a result of his illness and subsequent death she required a great deal of assistance from her family.  An agreement was eventually reached for a sum in excess of £200,000 which took into account the family’s requirement to provide daily care and assistance to the client.

Working within an Industrial Disease Department can often be stressful, with time pressures and complex issues  frequently arising, however, Helena has always enjoyed the challenge of new and different cases.  Helena has assisted in actively developing the department by forging links with Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Lung Foundation, together with important contacts within the field of Respiratory Medicine.    Helena believes strongly that working in the field of industrial disease, and in particular asbestos disease, is not just about processing the legal claim and winning asbestos or mesothelioma compensation, but about assisting and advising clients who are going through a difficult time. 

Helena can be contacted on 0800 058 27 37 or direct on 01244 354 650

James has worked in the personal injury field for nearly 7 years and now specialises in a variety of asbestos disease claims. He has been successful in achieving high settlement figures for those suffering with mesothelioma, asbestosis and pleural thickening and prides himself on running his cases efficiently with speed.

He obtained an award of compensation in a complex novel claim on behalf of a client against the Royal Navy. The client had to prove that his  post May of 1987 exposure to asbestos was significant enough to have contributed to him contracting mesothelioma. Those unfortunate enough to have been exposed to asbestos when carrying out military service are unable to claim compensation and therefore this case was extremely challenging. The client’s family were impressed with the level of work carried out by James. 

James also obtained a high settlement sum of £325,000.00 for a surviving widow who sadly lost her husband to asbestos related mesothelioma. He has settled a number of claims where clients have been exposed to asbestos whilst working as carpenters, factory workers, dockers, laggers, shipbuilders, electricians, plumbers, train engineers, heating engineers, builders and power station workers.

Another recent success involved a gentleman who had been exposed to asbestos at his local power station and sadly contracted mesothelioma some 40 years later. James succeeded in the claim on behalf of the client and damages were forwarded to him within a 60 day period following the initial consultation which took place at the client’s home address in Kent. James makes use of fast-track procedures and deals with all asbestos disease work as a matter of utmost priority. He says:-

“ I have enjoyed specialising in this complex field and work tirelessly to ensure that companies and insurers are held to account for the terrible conditions my clients suffer with. It is vitally important to ensure that sufferers of asbestos related disease claims are compensated quickly, we seek the assistance of medical experts who are able to provide us with the reports we require to prove a case within a short timeframe, I have found that I am able to provide a swift and effective service for all of my clients. ”

James can be contacted on 0800 058 27 37 or direct on 01244 354 663

Rhonwen Barraclough

Solicitor

Rhonwen qualified in 1999 and spent her post qualification experience in large national practices where she specialised in personal injury and industrial disease litigation.  She joined Oliver and Co in May 2009 and joined the Industrial Disease Department.

Rhonwen has experience in dealing with the whole range of industrial diseases such deafness, vibration white finger, asthma and dermatitis.  Rhonwen has also dealt with asbestos related disease claims and won mesothelioma compensation for clients.  

She has worked for defendant firms in the past and this has given her an invaluable insight into the conduct of such claims.

If you have an enquiry and would like to discuss a claim or injury please feel free to contact her via email at