A man whose wife died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma has received a large payout following her death.
The 83 year old claims his wife died as a direct result of having washed his work clothes over many years that were riddled with asbestos.
Leonard Faram from Rainham, London, worked for 10 years at the Cape Asbestos factory in Barking.
He worked as a lighterman at the London Docks from 1959-1969 handing raw asbestos every day.
His wife Annette died in 2015 from asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Annette started to feel unwell back in August 2012 and discovered she had a serious build-up of fluid on her lung after a trip to A&E.
Because of his previous work with asbestos, Leonard knew about some of the symptoms and told the doctors about his work history.
Annette was later diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2012.
Leonard said, “I worked day in, day out with bags of asbestos on the barges, and even in those days we workers were suspicious it was causing health problems but we were basically told we were making a fuss.”
“I have known for many years that I am at risk of developing an asbestos related condition, however, I had never considered that my work could cause the premature death of my wife.
“Had it not been for my own personal knowledge about the dangers of asbestos, as someone who has seen far too many ex-colleagues develop mesothelioma many years after their work ceased, we would never have known what to do or where to go.”
Mr Faram asked Thompsons Solicitors to take up the case following his wife’s diagnosis of asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
It was thanks to them that he secured a six figure payout before his wife died in 2015.
The Solicitor who acted on the case, Lorna, said, “Annette and Leonard had no idea that mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases could be contracted through second-hand contact but it is a real and life-limiting reality for far too many families in Essex.”
“In this case we were able to pursue a claim against a government organisation because of the employment Scheme Leonard worked under at the Docks.”
“It is only because Leonard worked there so long that we were able to pursue a claim.”
“Currently the law – which is grossly unfair – only allows us to pursue claims for secondary exposure from overalls if that exposure happened after 1965.”
“This despite the fact that I know from the cases I see all the time that asbestos was used just as much, if not more, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.”
Source of article:- www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/rainham-man-lost-his-wife-who-contracted-cancer-from-washing-his-work-clothes-1-5437633
Published Mar 27, 2018