Widow secures personal injury compensation after mesothelioma death

Posted 17/10/2010

A woman whose husband died of a disease related to exposure to asbestos has won a compensation claim against his former employer.

According to the Jarrow and Hebburn Gazette, June Bickle has secured a final settlement thought to be over £50,000 from cigarette filter manufacturer Filtrona following her husband’s contraction of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer.

Initially, the company claimed that Mr Bickle had never come into contact with asbestos during his time at the factory, but this defence was abandoned shortly before the High Court hearing.

Mrs Bickle said: “This was never about the money. It’s important that the use of asbestos is highlighted. The company denied it, and that made me really mad.”

Around 70 to 80 per cent of those who are diagnosed with mesothelioma have come into contact with asbestos, according to the National Cancer Institute.

However, the disease can also arise in family members of those who have been exposed to the deadly material.

Simon Davis, a personal injury partner at Ashtons Legal who specialises in asbestos-related disease claims, says:

“Although asbestos remains all around us, it is established that those who were exposed to more than the background level and develop mesothelioma can show that the exposure caused the disease. Usually one can find where the exposure was, and an insurer responsible for the entity that allowed that exposure.

“It cannot be right that this terrible disease be suffered without those responsible being held to account for the effects. One has to admire Mrs Bickle’s tenacity and strength of purpose here.”