Asbestos Victim's Family Wins £125,000

The family of a builder who died from an asbestos-related disease has won a compensation settlement from his employer.

The man first developed chest problems whilst on holiday in Spain and his condition was serious enough to warrant admission to hospital. He experienced no further symptoms until four years later, when he developed a rattling cough and found it difficult to breathe.

After a series of X-rays and a biopsy, the man was diagnosed with lung cancer but died before treatment could be started.

The coroner found that the cause of the man’s death was industrial disease. Over the years, he had carried out a variety of different building jobs for a local building firm, including removing old artex ceilings from many buildings. Artex used to contain asbestos, but he would not have been aware of this at the time.

On another occasion, the man was given the job of stripping out a factory, which involved removing a corrugated asbestos ceiling and asbestos-lagged pipes. At the end of the day, he was covered in asbestos fibres and dust.

The man’s family brought a claim against the building firm, which admitted liability for his illness. The claim was settled for £125,000.