Lowestoft engineering business admits liability for mesothelioma secondary exposure

Phoebe Osborne, a solicitor specialising in asbestos-related disease claims at Ashtons Legal, is on track to help Mrs T obtain compensation for the fact that she now suffers from mesothelioma through no fault of her own.

Mrs T, now in her 60s, repeatedly washed her husband’s dirty overalls when he returned from work during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were both unaware at the time that the asbestos-covered clothes would later endanger Mrs T’s life.

Mr T worked for a company that refitted naval vessels and as such was regularly working with engines and exhausts. He used to get diesel on his overalls and then asbestos particles would stick to it when he was removing lagging. Because the overalls were so filthy, Mrs T washed them by hand rather than in a machine with the rest of the family’s laundry, and so unknowingly increased her exposure to the asbestos.

Phoebe comments: “By the late 1970s enough was known about the dangers of asbestos that Mr T’s employers should have been taking better steps to try to protect their workers. Far fewer people are diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of ‘secondary exposure’ than as a result of primary exposure but it was a real risk and sadly we are seeing a number of cases coming through several decades after the exposure took place.”

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