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Written on 31st March 2020

Boyes Turner's specialist asbestos claims lawyers were instructed by the widow of Mr B, Mrs B and her son R B, following the death of Mr B  from peritoneal mesothelioma in June 2014.

Exposure

Mr B had significant exposure to asbestos when working as an asbestos stripper, insulation worker and lagger. He worked for Dicks Asbestos & Insulation Company Limited in the 1960s and 1970s and he also worked for Cape Darlington Limited. When working as a lagger he removed old asbestos lagging mostly from pipe work. He applied new asbestos lagging to the pipe work. He worked in a number of power stations carrying out lagging work particularly Battersea Power Station, Avonmouth and Hinkley Point.

Mr B was apprenticed with December 1962. His job involved making the asbestos lagging. The first layer was known as ‘compo’. This was made by mixing a powdered substance in a bucket and applying water to mix it to a paste. The second layer of lagging was known as ‘maggie’. This was made by putting a powdered substance from a bag weighing a hundredweight into a drum and then mixing with a drum to a paste. This produced a lot of dust. The pipes were then finished off by applying another layer of compo.

As an apprentice his main duty was to fix the “maggie”. This involved him pouring the powdered substance into the drum then applying the water. He then had to lean over with his head and shoulders into the drum to mix the “maggie” to a paste.  He mixed up to 10 bags a day. Mr B left Dick’s Asbestos to work for Cape Darlington to join his brother who was working there. Cape Darlington also did industrial lagging. Here Mr B did similar work mixing and applying the lagging as he had done at Dicks Asbestos.

Diagnosis

Towards the end of 2013 Mr B became unwell and his condition deteriorated. Mr B  underwent further tests and his condition deteriorated further. He had gone from being a 6ft 7ins, 19st man to being so weak that he needed a wheelchair. In May 2014 he was told that he was suffering from cancer. By this time Mr B  was in terrific pain and extremely thin. Mr B died from peritoneal mesothelioma on 12 June 2014.

We were instructed following Mr B’s death. We took on the claim and recovered substantial damages on behalf of the family.

Boyes Turner’s specialist asbestos disease lawyers

Boyes Turner are one of the largest legal services providers in the Thames Valley and operate one of the largest specialist industrial disease teams in the country.

The team pride themselves on being able to take on the cases that other lawyers deem to have a lack of prospects and in being able to succeed where others have failed. The success in cases like Mr J’s conforms with Boyes Turners ethos of obtaining justice for mesothelioma victims and ensuring asbestos victims and their families are properly compensated.