Personal injury news

Asbestos victim’s family make compensation claim

The family of a heavyweight boxer who died after prolonged exposure to asbestos have finally been successful in making a compensation claim.

David Hallinan, a former professional boxer, died of lung cancer in the North London Hospice at the age of 51 in August 1999. He had previously been a carpenter for several years and had worked at numerous sites across the capital. It is during this time that his family think he contracted asbestosis.

Their successful compensation claim resulted in them being awarded £2,346 following a court case in New York against asbestos manufacturer Johns Manville Corporation. Returning to the UK, the family donated the money to the hospice in which David died.

After working in his teens as a carpenter, Hallinan became an amateur boxer in 1967 and then turned professional in 1971. After a relatively successful career he eventually retired in 1976 and started up his own building firm.

After presenting the money from the compensation claim, David's brother, Mike, said, "The hospice, which costs £10,000 per day to run, accepted the cheque in memory of Dave, who they remembered as a very brave man throughout his illness."