Boyes Turner’s specialist industrial disease team were instructed by Debbie following the death of her father, Alcwyn, from mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer.
Alcwyn had worked as a thermal insulation engineer at Aberthaw Power Station for the majority of his career. His employers also sent him to work at other power stations throughout the UK and abroad. His job involved removing and reapplying asbestos lagging on pipework. Debbie remembered that he used to come home from work covered in white dust, which would be all over his clothes and in his hair.
Alcwyn became very ill and was admitted to hospital with severe stomach pain and sickness. He passed away four months later. At that time, the cause of his death was unknown. A coroner’s inquest three months later established the cause of death as peritoneal mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer in the lining of the abdomen.
We obtained Alcwyn’s employment history from HM Revenue & Customs and discovered that while working at Aberthaw Power Station, he had been employed by Newalls Insulation Company from tax year 1961/62 until 1974/75. Newalls Insulation were part of Turner & Newall, a manufacturing business that exposed numerous workers to asbestos. Turner & Newall went into administration in 2001.
The Turner & Newall Asbestos Trust was subsequently set up to provide a mechanism for compensating workers who were exposed to asbestos by Turner & Newall and have gone on to develop asbestos related diseases. We took a statement from Debbie detailing her memories of her father working at Aberthaw Power Station and obtained the coroner’s report which confirmed that the cause of Alcwyn’s death arose from his exposure to asbestos. We made an application to the trust and Debbie was awarded compensation by the administrators of the scheme.
While no amount of money can compensate Debbie for the sad loss of her father, we were pleased to assist at such a difficult time.
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos related disease, we may be able to help. Contact us on 0800 884 0718 or email [email protected] for a free initial discussion.
