Some cases are resolved with just a simple letter to a customer/solicitor showing the client is not going to roll over when presented with an unjustified claim but on occasions we get involved in some extremely serious legal issues.

Recently, we were consulted by a client about a tragic case.

An employee had contracted a fatal disease after years of near continuous employment, leading to a claim for damages, the product of which he may never fully enjoy.

While medical evidence cast doubt on the timing and sequence of the progress of the disease, there was sufficient evidence to imply that on the balance, the employee had been harmed over an extended period and that this harm could be said to be attributable to the working methods, then in place and operated in all innocence, by employers who were subject to rigorous regular H&S checks.

Notwithstanding their total compliance with safety procedures then applicable, it looked increasingly unlikely that the claim could be successfully defended.

The clients employers’ liability insurers appointed city solicitors to represent the client.

These solicitors, early in their involvement, placed the client under pressure to carry a considerable burden of liability, on the basis that for a short period, the client could not prove that they held insurance cover during the time the employee was undertaking the harmful work.

This period amounted to a small percentage of the whole time the employee was with them, but those representing the insurers saw this as an opportunity to minimise the insurers exposure to a potentially large claim.

The position of the solicitors became compromised in that they had been appointed to represent the client, yet were really representing the interests of the insurers, which clearly were in conflict with the best interests of the client.

Lawgistics were called in to assess the position and advise the client.

The final result was that the solicitors (and thus the insurers) accepted a 10% contribution from the client and no contribution at all towards any costs.

The clients, who held always the moral high ground against both their insurers and those representing them, took no joy from this victory, for they focused on the true end result of a very personal drama.

Lawgistics were pleased however, to have been able to aid and guide the clients through a tricky process.

Visit www.lawgistics.co.uk or call 0870 26 77 118 for more information.