Asbestos timebomb affects thousands
For thousands of families across the country, the spectre of industrial illness remains ever present, with previous exposure to asbestos being one of the most common forms.
The injuries caused by exposure, which occurred mainly during the 1950’s and 1960’s, include pleural plaques and the deadly disease Mesothelioma.
According to personal injury claims lawyers representing a number of families affected by the deadly disease, not only will the amount of claims continue apace, but there could even be a dramatic spike in cases in the coming decade, which could go on for another generation.
Workers at power stations, factories and engineering works were routinely expected to work with asbestos, often on a daily basis, and many were not offered any form of protective clothing to mitigate the risk.
According to campaigners around 2,000 people are diagnosed each year with Mesothelioma, which is a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and is generally associated with asbestos exposure.
Britain continues to have one of the highest incidents in the world of the disease, with the comparable total in the US being around five times less per capita.
Injury claims
Because of the high fatality rates associated with Mesothelioma, many families are left to claim compensation after the deaths of a loved one. An estimated 4,000 a year die due to asbestos related disease according to government figures.
One woman whose husband died after exposure, while working for a now defunct engineering firm recently won a marathon legal battle for compensation from the insurers of the firm that she says was responsible for her husband’s illness.
After initially being unable to trace the firm’s insurers, the woman sought help from injury lawyers who not only traced the insurer but have recently fought to settle the case for £250,000 in compensation.
The legal case was finally settled nearly twelve years after the death of the man, which is unusual due to a generally recognised statute of limitations.
Pauline Chandler, a lawyer, said: "It was an amazing victory as it is very unusual to start a claim so long after someone has died. The normal rule is three years from the date someone is diagnosed with an industrial disease or when that person has died, so in this case the rule had long expired."
The woman said the claim was not just about financial compensation but about showing that is was possible for others in her situation to seek justice for the harm that had been done to their family.
Another leading lawyer, who is representing clients who suffered exposure while working at Britain's main power stations including Drax and Eggborough, said that he felt Britain was sitting on a "timebomb" of potential claims after investigating the work conditions of the people in these plants back in the 1960’s.
One worker described asbestos falling in the air "like snow" in the power plant, in which the substance was used to insulate pipes.
"It sounds melodramatic to say we're sat on an asbestos timebomb, but we are.
Howard Bennett, another lawyer, said: "The truth is that epidemiologists tell us that there will be a spike in the number of people diagnosed with asbestos disease reaching until 2020, and it could still be trailing off until 2047."
Updated on 8/17/2009