Andrew is a highly experienced senior personal injury solicitor, specialising in all asbestos-related disease claims for trade union clients, based in the firm’s Newcastle-upon-Tyne office.

As head of asbestos litigation, Andrew is responsible for the case management of all asbestos disease claims throughout the country. Andrew has been involved with most of the firm’s big cases, with an impressive track-record of litigation up to and including the House of Lords. Regarded as highly professional, efficient, sensitive and thorough, Andrew aims to get the best possible outcome with the maximum amount of compensation for Thompsons' trade union clients.

As well as handling his own case load across the North East and Cumbria, including many high-value mesothelioma claims and group claims, Andrew supervises the cases handled by other lawyers in the asbestos teams around the country.

With 18 years’ specialist experience, Andrew has developed critical and comprehensive knowledge of asbestos-related disease, its progress and the options available to clients. Andrew deals quickly and sensitively with claims to try to reach settlement during the lifetime of his trade union clients. The average survival for clients with a malignant diagnosis is counted in months rather than years.

Andrew is a tenacious litigator, used to fighting off challenges from insurance companies who are becoming more and more aggressive in contesting claims and making life more difficult for claimants. An expert at tracking down employers who have gone out of business and their insurers, he has recovered substantial compensation for members.

Trade union clients and their families rely on Andrew’s hugely supportive manner and find in him a formidable champion.

Although he deals with the most tragic cases, Andrew finds working for Thompsons most rewarding, especially having the opportunity of doing his best for the most deserving of his trade union clients. Andrew believes that what sets Thompsons apart from other firms, is how the client is put at the heart of everything they do.

In his spare time, Andrew likes to spend time with him family and travelling. The Lake District is a favourite place.

 

Andrew's case experience

  • Secured damages for UNISON member, Sandra Whitehead, who was exposed to asbestos when her former husband, a fitter at a Tyneside shipyard, brought asbestos dust home on his work clothes. 
  • Successfully tracked down two companies that had dissolved years before to secure compensation for an electrician who was exposed to asbestos while working as an electrician in London. 
  • Secured damages for the son of a woman who died from mesothelioma after coming into contact with asbestos dust on her husband's work clothes. Andrew had previously successfully run the case of the former shipyard fitter, who also died from mesothelioma. 

 

Professional membership

Andrew is senior litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), a Law Society panel member and an assessor for the Law Society’s Occupational Injury Accreditation Scheme.

 

Testimonials