Asbestos specialist Michelle is based at Thompsons Solicitors’ Newcastle office and handles cases across the North East of England.
A chartered legal executive with nearly 25 years of experience in the personal injury sector, Michelle began her career at Thompsons in 2001 as a legal secretary and has worked on the asbestos disease team since 2002.
Michelle’s case load mainly consists of claims involving non-malignant asbestos-related diseases, such as pleural thickening, pleural plagues and asbestosis, which have often developed through workplace exposure. Michelle also has experience litigating Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) claims, ranging from diagnoses of dermatitis and asthma, to Legionnaire’s Disease.
Additionally, Michelle’s duties include investigating and securing compensation for lung cancer, mesothelioma and non-malignant claims against the T&N Asbestos Trust. Michelle is also the Newcastle office’s US Asbestos Trust coordinator and advises on the eligibility of UK-based claims against American manufacturers of asbestos.
A forensic and successful litigator who is keenly aware of the difficulties her clients are going through, Michelle has worked closely with trade unions and shares their focus of seeking maximum redress for members, while making the process for them as stress free as possible.
Michelle enjoys working at Thompsons Solicitors because it provides the opportunity to obtain justice and compensation for working people and their families.
Outside of work, Michelle practises women’s Olympic weightlifting.
Michelle’s case experience
- Secured £128,000 from the T&N Asbestos Trust for a former typist who was exposed to asbestos while handing wages to wrokers on the factory floor and later developed mesothelioma.
- Recovered damages for an agency worker who contracted Legionnaire’s Disease after being negligently exposed by her employer, and developed PTSD and depression because of her illness.