News
Charity Work
We recently met with Macmillan Cancer Support following our pledge to donate £1000 from each new case we were instructed on via our website and information leaflet. The £1000 per case is donated from the costs we earn in each case.
Solicitors regularly pay referral fees to other companies who refer compensation claims to them. We strive to cut out that middle man and instead donate from our costs to Macmillan Cancer Support or the British Lung Foundation, depending on the client’s choice.
We are pleased to announce that the donations have begun! We met with Gillian from Macmillan to present the first cheque and to discuss our ongoing allegiance with them.
The donation was made from the costs of a case we successfully settled for a gentleman who was exposed to asbestos whilst employed in industry in the South East more than 30 years ago. He was helped by his Macmillan nurse when he was first diagnosed with mesothelioma and she referred him to our firm for help and assistance with his legal claim for compensation.
From that day on we worked closely with her to ensure that he got the full support he needed in terms of treatment, applying for state benefits and the specialist legal advice he required which lead to the successful award of compensation to him.
We now have plans to extend our fundraising and build upon the relationship we have forged with Macmillan.
We are due to meet with their new local representative, Aimee Scally, this week.
More Sensitive Test for Mesothelioma
Scientists at Oxford University claim to have developed a more sensitive test to assist clinicians in diagnosing mesothelioma. This asbestos related disease is often very difficult to diagnosis during a person’s lifetime.
The test presently used is a pleural fluid cytology, a test which looks for cancerous cells. The new test involves studying the protein levels found in the fluid in the pleural cavity.
Pleural effusions are a common symptom with a variety of causes. The research concentrated on distinguishing between a benign pleural effusion and a pleural effusion occurring in a mesothelioma sufferer. 90% of people who suffer from mesothelioma suffer with pleural effusions.
More specifically the test involves measuring the levels of the protein meothelin. This is present in high levels in the pleural fluid of a person suffering with mesothelioma. The study considered 429 samples of pleural fluid from 209 patients.
The findings were that the protein levels were 6.9 times higher in a mesothelioma patient than in a person suffering with secondary lung cancer. The levels were 10.9 times higher when compared with patients suffering with benign conditions.
Oxford University
It is hoped by clinicians that an earlier diagnosis will allow a more prompt intervention in terms of treatment to relieve symptoms. It is also envisaged that it will allow an earlier initiation of more extensive treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, if appropriate. The test will also be less invasive and is likely to reduce the length of time people need to spend in hospital.
The earlier and quicker a diagnosis can be made, the more promptly a patient can be advised in relation to the benefits and compensation to which he or she may be entitled. This is important when considering and dealing with such a limited life expectancy as in cases of mesothelioma.
According to the Health and Safety Executive the annual number of mesothelioma deaths has increased considerably over the period for which statistics are available, reaching 2056 deaths in 2006, the latest year for which data are available, compared with 153 in 1968. It is predicted that the annual number of mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is estimated to peak somewhere between 1950 and 2450 deaths, sometime between 2011 and 2015.
Research into the diagnosis and treatment of the disease needs to continue and this strengthens our resolve to support associated charities.