Widow claims for compensation after asbestos death

Posted 14/06/2009

The widow of a man who died from an industrial disease is taking legal action to secure £1 million in compensation.

Alex Devoy died as a result of exposure to asbestos during his tenure in the Merchant Navy and working in dockyards.

However, he had been the full-time carer to his wife Carole, who has Parkinson’s Disease, which means she has had to pay more than £2,000 a month to hire professional carers since her husband’s death.

“When he was diagnosed, my world just fell apart,” Mrs Devoy told the Evening Chronicle.

“I feel angry – you can’t help wanting to ask why have they taken him away from us.”

If Mrs Devoy is successful with the compensation claim, this would be the highest amount ever paid out for an asbestos-related death.

Mr Devoy died from mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer that was responsible for 2,056 deaths in the UK during 2006.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, this is up from 153 in 1968.