Compensation news
23/01/2012

Family of asbestos victim continue to fight for compensation

A widow has vowed to continue her husband's campaign to win asbestos compensation for Tyneside victims of pleural plaques.

Before he died, the 74-year-old grandfather from Sheriff Hill in Gateshead had been dedicated to campaigning for victims of the asbestos-related disease to be compensated for their personal injury.

The father-of-six had been diagnosed with scarring on his lungs, which is known to be caused by asbestos exposure, in 2005 after a routine hospital check-up. However, because the condition was not named as pleural plaques, he did not realise that he was entitled to claim for compensation.

In October 2007, the Government ended the right to compensation; however following the efforts of campaigners it launched a scheme to give £5,000 payouts to those who made their claim before that date. Like many others, the grandfather did not get his claim in on time and in response he vowed to fight to end the compensation scandal.

His widow, who has taken up her husband's campaign, commented, "Now he will never know one way or the other if he won and it is awful, but hopefully we can do it on his behalf."

It is thought that the man was first exposed to asbestos while working in Australia in the 1960s where he worked in a power station. He then suffered further exposure whilst working for a company in England which installed cables.