On the eve of the first Gulf war, a young Royal Marine and his comrade were struggling to prepare a tracked vehicle for the invasion of Kuwait. One bolt proved difficult to free, so the Marine tried to loosen it using a harness. He's now in constant pain, his career in the Marines ended by the serious back injury he suffered trying to shift that bolt.

But it took more than five years - and the meticulous legal skills of Cliff Poole - for the Marine to pursue his right to damages from the Ministry of Defence. "It's common for military cases to come to me late," Cliff said. "Sailors, soldiers and airmen are discouraged from taking legal action. Many don't realise that service men and women enjoy exactly the same rights as civilians. And many of them suffer poor treatment because the medical priority for the services is to get them back ready for action."

Cliff, a former engineer with roots in the labour movement, has an impressive back catalogue of winning cases brought by shipyard workers afflicted with mesothelioma, a lung cancer caused by inhaling asbestos. In one Merseyside case, he tracked down former Cammell Laird workers from the 1960s to win a settlement worth more than £150,000.

When not at work, Cliff is a passionate golfer and proudly admits being a life long supporter of Leyton Orient FC.

Cliff's Industrial Disease experience