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Archive for the ‘Asbestos Related Disease’ Category

< Older Entries

Somerset widow gets Bristol Water asbestos death payout

A Somerset woman is to get £290,000 in compensation from Bristol Water following her husband’s death from cancer caused by his contact with asbestos.

David Bean, from Shepton Mallet, had worked for the company as an engineer.

He had no protection when visiting pumping stations housing boilers covered with asbestos cement lagging.

Bristol Water said “stringent safety measures” had now been introduced for staff working with asbestos.

The solicitor for his wife Jean said the money would compensate her for loss of income resulting from his death last year at the age of 73.

‘No protective mask’

Solicitor Brigitte Chandler said: “Mr Bean visited pumping stations all over the western area.

May 10, 2012 7:58 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Asbestos scare after factory blaze in Winson Green, Birmingham

PEOPLE were warned to keep doors and windows closed in an asbestos scare following a fierce fire at a Birmingham factory on Saturday.

More than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze on Saturday morning at Chidlow and Cheshire in Spring Hill, Winson Green.

Flames and plumes of smoke could be seen from several miles away at the height of the blaze.

Roads around the industrial unit, which manufactures spares and accessories for the automotive industry, were closed for most of yesterday and fire crews were damping down the wreckage after bringing the blaze under control.

The alarm was raised at 3.45am and fire crews from the Black Country and stations across Birmingham rushed to the scene.

Local authority teams were sent to the site to monitor levels of asbestos contained in the badly damaged roofing materials.

April 23, 2012 8:14 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Electrician faced with asbestos ’snowstorm’ in power station job

A RETIRED electrician died as a result of being repeatedly placed at the centre of an asbestos “snowstorm” during his working life.

Grandfather-of-two Ian Stanford lost his fight against pneumonia at the age of 76.

An inquest heard he worked at Willington Power Station between 1959 and 1993 and looked after all electrical aspects of the plant, including shutting down boilers and turbines for maintenance.

The once-yearly task involved him removing lagging and asbestos material surrounding the equipment.

A report by pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock said the nature of the work led to Mr Stanford’s death on February 11, at Royal Derby Hospital.

In a statement, Mr Stanford had said the task left him in an asbestos “snowstorm” that turned the room into a “fog”.

He wrote: “During this period there would be a huge amount of asbestos dust floating around.

8:12 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Asbestos legal claim goes up to House of Lords

THE widow of an ex-headteacher who died from asbestos exposure is urging the House of Lords to stand fast after the Government refused to exempt victims from legal costs.

Marie Hughes watched husband Phil die from cancer after coming into contact with asbestos at Brymbo Steelworks in his younger years.

The Government voted against some amendments to its controversial Legal Aid bill to exempt asbestos victims paying the costs, despite rebel Tories and Lib Dems voting the other way last week.

It will again come before the House of Lords tonight for further debate and could be sent back to the Commons if the peers are not satisfied.

Mr Hughes was a former of headteacher of Tanyfron School, near Wrexham, and died, aged 57, in 2005.

Mrs Hughes, of Coed-y Glyn, Wrexham, said if they’d had to worry about the financial implications of trying to press for a claim without legal aid, they might not have bothered.

“I was very disappointed the bill went through in the Government vote on Monday,” she said. “But I did take heart that there were Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs who could not vote with the Government.

“It is now going back to the House of Lords and I would urge them not to pass this through, back what they backed, and send it back to the House of Commons where hopefully more will reject it.”

8:10 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Thousands Of Terminally Ill Workers Will Die Before Receiving Compensation

Thousands of terminally ill workers will die before getting the compensation they deserve because of delays to a new law aimed at addressing the problem, a legal expert has said.

The “disgraceful” wait for the legislation being implemented, which will see insurance companies benefit while victims suffer, has been blamed on a lack of funds by the Ministry of Justice.

In 2010 the law was changed to make it easier for ex-employees to sue for damages but it has not been brought into force, and a report says it will not come into effect until next year at the earliest.

Almost 5,000 people a year die from asbestos-related diseases and compensation expert Chris Shaw, a Newcastle-based solicitor, said: “It’s disgraceful because they are terminally sick and they need that money.

“Insurance companies are the only ones profiting from the delay.”

The Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act was passed in 2010 to make it easier for claimants to sue if their former employers have gone out of business.

April 17, 2012 10:02 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Many Barking and Dagenham victims lose out on asbestos case victory

Families of people who contracted asbestos-related cancers may have won their long fight for compensation but there are fears that some sufferers of a related disease may never even have the chance to claim.

Last week the Supreme Court ruled that insurance liability was triggered when employees were exposed to asbestos as opposed to when symptoms occurred.

But Jimmy Parish, president of the Dagenham GMB laggers branch, said those who have suffered from pleural plaques – an asbestos-related illness – may not benefit.

He said: “If you are diagnosed with pleural plagues, you may never get a chance to make a claim anything until you’re dead.

“I come from a family where all my uncles and my dad died of asbestosis. I’m one of many.”

In 2007, the House of Lords ruled that people who had been exposed to asbestos could no longer claim compensation for pleural plaques, often a precursor for mesothelioma or asbestosis.

However, by the time the more serious conditions appear, it is often too late to benefit from any claim.

10:00 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Wrexham wife’s asbestos legal fee plea to Government

A WIFE who lost her husband to asbestos poisoning urged the Government to exempt victims from paying legal costs ahead of a crucial vote.

Marie Hughes watched her husband Phil die a tragic and debilitating death of cancer after coming into contact with the toxic substance at Brymbo Steelworks in his younger years.

Mr Hughes was a former of headteacher of Tanyfron School, near Wrexham, and died at the age of 57 in 2005.

Tomorrow the Government will go through a series of votes on amendments to its controversial Legal Aid Bill which is looking to save millions of pounds.

Part of the legislation, which is being resisted by a proposed amendment, is to make victims of asbestos mesothelioma pay for any legal aid through damages received.

Mrs Hughes, of Coed-y-Glyn, Wrexham, said: “He underwent gruelling, unrelenting and debilitating courses of chemotherapy, intensive radiotherapy and invasive surgery in the form of an EPP (extra pleural pneumonectomy) which involves the removal of a complete lung, half the pericardium and half the diaphragm.

“He lived in constant pain.ŠAll this was a vain attempt to improve the quality and to extend his life.

“The court hearing was pending during the time of my husband’s major surgery.”

April 16, 2012 9:56 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Firm working on Tyneside site are fined for failing to manage asbestos

Asbestos Awareness

Asbestos Awareness

A laboratory testing firm has been prosecuted after putting workers at its Tyneside premises at risk of exposure to asbestos.

An investigation was started into the activities of Exova (UK) Limited after a complaint about the company was submitted. The complaint suggested that the company had not dealt with damaged asbestos at its site at The Grubb Parsons Building on Shields Road, Newcastle.

The company had been advised to follow asbestos regulations and had failed to do so after the second recommendation.

The company’s own accredited asbestos testing branch carried out a survey of the premises on the 3rd of October Newcastle Magistrates’ Court Heard.  The branch identified damaged asbestos in two separate areas of the site and the survey stated that the asbestos should be removed, repaired or sealed.

In February 2010 a further survey was completed, this survey also stated that the previously identified damaged asbestos was still there.

Andrew Woodhall, and HSE inspector, visited the site on 15 July 2010, he found the recommendations of the two earlier surveys had still not been implemented and employees were continuing to access and work in the area.

Due to employees working in the area where asbestos was present and exposure was likely, the HSE inspector instigated enforcement action.

April 5, 2012 8:25 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Asbestos workers at risk of heart disease and damaged lungs

Workers exposed to asbestos as part of their job are at a significantly greater risk of heart disease and stroke than the general population with women more likely to be affected than men, new research has found.

It is already well known that asbestos workers are prone to serious lung disease, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis, as a direct result of their exposure to asbestos fibres.

In the latest study scientists analysed the cause of death among nearly 100,000 asbestos workers taking part in regular voluntary health monitoring and answering questions on levels of exposure for the Asbestos Workers Survey.

Warning: Those working around asbestos are more prone to heart attacks

Most of the men taking part in the survey worked in asbestos removal while most of the women worked in manufacturing.

More than half of the men (58%) and women (52%) were smokers at the time of their first medical examination, proportions which had fallen only slightly (55% and 49%) at the time of their last.

April 3, 2012 8:07 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Court ruling brings hope for claimants in asbestos-related deaths

The families of people who died after exposure to asbestos could be able make insurance claims following a High Court ruling this week.

The UK Supreme Court has now placed insurance liability at the time an employee was exposed to asbestos, not when symptoms appeared.

Relatives of workers who died of the cancer mesothelioma want to make claims on policies dating from the 1940s.

There have been many mesothelioma inquests in Eastbourne over the years, as pensioners move from industrial locations and retire to the coast.

The cancer takes decades to develop so many retired people die in Eastbourne from the condition after working with the fatal substance when they were much younger.

Earlier this month, the Herald reported that Ratton teacher Neville Beck had died at the age of 71 from a mesothelioma.

His widow Susan Beck says her husband died from breathing in the asbestos dust on history books and she has launched a legal battle to sue Ratton School for £250,000.

April 2, 2012 8:14 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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My payout victory’s a dream come true

A GRANDAD dying from asbestos poisoning described as “all my dreams come true” a court ruling that should see his family receive a major compensation payout.

Former roofer David Mahoney, 52, was exposed to asbestos while building the former British Home Stores building in Colchester.

Mr Mahoney, of Scarfe Way, Colchester, was later diagnosed with lung cancer, mesothelioma. His insurance firm claimed because it was not covering him when he was diagnosed in October 2009 he was not entitled to compensation.

But this week the Supreme Court ruled liability was “triggered’’ when employees were exposed to asbestos dust, not when symptoms of mesothelioma emerged.

Solicitors said the ruling meant victims were covered by policies in place when asbestos fibres were inhaled and insurers would have to meet compensation claims.

Mr Mahoney said: “It’s all my dreams come true. As soon as we got the decision, I could feel the weight coming off.

“I didn’t think, deep down, we would get the verdict, even though everyone told me we’d get it.”

8:10 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Widow’s plea to help explain husband’s industrial asbestos death

The widow of a community stalwart who died from asbestos exposure days before their golden wedding anniversary has launched a legal fight for justice.

Devoted father-of-two and grandfather-of-eight Thomas Flower, of Wantage Road, Carrville, near Durham City, spent countless hours coaching boys’ football teams and led a residents’ campaign against the expansion of Ramside Hall Hotel onto greenbelt land.

Mr Flower died in October last year, aged 74, from asbestosis, following a four-year battle with illness.

An inquest into his death, held last week, concluded that he died as a result of industrial disease.

Now his widow, Jean, 71, is appealing to Mr Flower’s former colleagues to come forward and shed light on conditions in his former workplaces.

Mrs Flower said: “Thomas and I met in our early 20s and had been together for 50 years.

To lose my soul mate just a week before our golden wedding anniversary was almost too much to bear.

March 27, 2012 8:05 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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Rail worker died after exposure to asbestos dust

A FORMER railway worker died after being exposed to asbestos while fitting carriage brakes.

Ronald Creed, 88, worked in the rail industry for nearly 50 years before his death, an inquest yesterday heard.

In a statement read out in Derby Coroner’s Court, Mr Creed’s son John said his father had started his career in 1938.

He said: “He started at Derby Loco Works in Derby as a machinist. I don’t know if he came into contact with asbestos dust then.

“He moved to work for EW Bliss as a machinist before he retired in 1987.

“I also worked for EW Bliss for 15 years, working on brakes and clutches as he had done, and that probably involved working with asbestos.”

7:55 am - Posted by Asbestos News  | Comments ( 0 )
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