Asbestos Related Illness

A woman who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos fibres when handling her husband’s clothes has been awarded £130,000 in compensation. Jacky Merritt’s husband, Don, worked as a lagger for a large...

Mesothelioma, which is caused by asbestos exposure, is a particularly lethal form of cancer that attacks the cells lining the body's internal organs, but it is most often found in the lungs. Overall, the prognosis for sufferers is poor. By the time someone...

A former electrician has been awarded £20,000 in damages after he developed asbestosis, a crippling respiratory disease.   Peter Guy, now 74, worked for Harland and Wolf in its Liverpool shipyard in the 1960s as an...

The widow of a man who died of mesothelioma in his late sixties, after being exposed to asbestos decades ago, has been awarded £122,000 in compensation.   Harry Worth was diagnosed with the deadly asbestos-related...

After a long fight, the family of a woman who died in 2002 from asbestos-related cancer has received a five-figure sum in settlement of a compensation claim against her employers.   In 1957, Martha May Charlson had appeared on a...

In two recent asbestos-related compensation cases, claimants have successfully obtained damages from their former employers. In the first case, a 73-year-old former welder, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer from asbestos exposure,...

A plumber and pipe fitter who was exposed to asbestos at work from an early age has won over £150,000 in compensation after he developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer affecting the lining of the lungs. Charles Cochran,...

A woman who is dying of mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, has been awarded a six-figure sum in compensation. Debbie Brewer's father worked at Devonport Dockyard as a lagger in the 1960s. During this...

Sufferers of an asbestos-related condition, pleural plaques, are to be denied the right to claim compensation, even when the condition has been caused by negligence, following a landmark decision in the House of Lords. The judgment...

A shipbuilder's family has won more than £100,000 in compensation after he died of mesothelioma, a type of cancer related to asbestos exposure. Frank Ede had worked for a shipbuilder from 1943 to 1976, initially as a burner before...

In two separate cases, two widows have won substantial compensation after their husbands died of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. The women brought claims against their husbands’ former employers who had...

A maintenance fitter and an oven fitter's widow have both won substantial compensation in separate asbestos-related cases. In the first case, an unnamed man was exposed to asbestos while working for the British Airport Authority as a...

A former roofer has been awarded more than £160,000 in compensation after developing mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer, as a result of being exposed to deadly asbestos fibres in the course of his employment. Jim...

A former shipyard worker has been awarded nearly £1m in compensation after developing mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos at work. Raymond Shanks, 59, worked for the shipbuilders Swan Hunter for four years from 1965. During this time he was in close...

The family of a Lancashire man has received more than £74,000 in compensation after he died from asbestos-related mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lungs.  ...

Two further cases dealing with compensation for exposure to asbestos highlight the extent of the problems caused when this deadly substance is not handled correctly. In the first case, Frederick Allen was awarded £128,500 after...

The Government has announced plans to speed up the payment of compensation to mesothelioma sufferers. The disease, an aggressive form of...

The widow of a man who suffered from mesothelioma has won £185,000 in compensation. Her husband had worked as an electrician for a large London-based company for twelve years in the 1960s and 1970s. During that time he had frequently been required to...

 A Cheshire woman has secured £155,000 in an out of court settlement after her husband died of the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma. Her husband had first worked as an apprentice joiner for W J Bush & Son from 1956 to 1964,...

A recent out of court settlement could give welcome relief to future sufferers of asbestos-related diseases who are seeking compensation. Former carpenter, Amarjeet Singh Dahele, won £400,000 in compensation from construction firm Thomas Bates and Son....

The widow of former scaffolder Bill Byrne, who was exposed to asbestos and died of lung cancer, has won her battle for compensation. Mr Byrne, who died in 2002 aged 71, had worked for Lyndon Scaffolding and Mills Scaffolding in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr...

Two former dockers have welcomed a recent High Court decision which means that they, and others, can sue the Government for compensation for asbestos-related illness. This is a major breakthrough because in the past the Government has refused to take...

Exposure to asbestos is the greatest single cause of workplace deaths in the UK.   The House of Lords recently ruled that where a worker contracts mesothelioma after having been exposed to asbestos by more...

Another death linked to possible exposure to asbestos in a school has occurred. Victor Kirk, 66, a retired caretaker from Paignton in Devon, died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma on 6 April 2006. He had spent much of his working life as a school...

The employers of men who died as a result of contracting mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos fibres at some time during their working lives have won their appeal against a decision that had a fundamental impact on their potential liabilities. As a...

At least five people die each day from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma. It is a very painful illness, particularly in its later stages. A 57-year-old man who had lived a healthy life recently died of the disease as a result of exposure to asbestos...

The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that people suffering from pleural plaques were entitled to claim compensation. Pleural plaques are areas of thick scar tissue which develop on the outer layer of the pleura...

It is not always easy to gain evidence to prove that there is a causal link between ill-health and the work environment, even when a pattern of illness develops which raises suspicions. Ex-employees of the Golden Wonder crisp factory in...

In a landmark case, the High Court has reduced the compensation payable to the widow of a man who died of lung cancer, after he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres in the course of his work, because he smoked and that was judged to be a contributory...

Mesothelioma is a particularly lethal form of cancer of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen that usually develops as a result of exposure to asbestos. Most people who develop mesothelioma do so as a result of exposure to asbestos in...

Claims by victims of mesothelioma (asbestosis) are continuing to lead to substantial settlements by the responsible past employers. The widow of a plasterer who died following exposure to asbestos dust at work has been awarded...

Another piece has been fitted into the jigsaw of asbestosis litigation as the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the presence of pleural plaques (damage to the lungs resulting from asbestos exposure but not constituting asbestosis) gives rise to a cause of...

Kevin Curran, general secretary of the GMB trades union, has called on the Government to provide funding to help schools, hospitals and local authorities to identify and deal with asbestos in public buildings. He has warned of an ‘asbestos ticking time...

One of the biggest issues in personal injury cases where damage is cumulative is working out who is to blame. One test is on the basis of the balance of probabilities. For example, a person deafened by noise after working in several noisy environments, may...

The courts are clearly minded that people who suffer from diseases arising from exposure to a harmful substance at work will not have their search for compensation frustrated. Last year, the family of a mesothelioma (asbestosis)...