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Thompsons Solicitors
Owners of Blackpool Tower Sued for £76,000 After Former Employee Died From Asbestos Cancer
7th March 2008
The owners of the famous Blackpool Tower have been sued for over £76,000 after a former employee died from the deadly asbestos cancer – mesothelioma. The relatives of the deceased have secured the compensation with the support of personal injury specialists Thompsons Solicitors, The Legal Line’s lawyers.
Exposed to Asbestos at Work
Edward (Ted) Hughes worked for the Blackpool Tower Company from 1957 to 1982. He began as an odd job man in the circus but by 1961 had transferred to the engineering side of the business where he was put in charge of the boiler room. He was subsequently required to maintain and run two Lancashire boilers, a job which involved working alongside fitters who removed and applied asbestos lagging.
Mesothelioma
Mr Hughes developed the asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma in early 2006 and sadly died in March 2007, aged 71.
Diana Hughes is the sister in law of the late Edward Hughes and lives in Blackpool. She comments: “Edward was in relatively good health until the summer of 2005 when he started to become breathless. He then lived in a first floor flat and started to notice that he was struggling to climb the stairs without becoming breathless. It was such a shock when he was diagnosed with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma at Blackpool Victoria Hospital as he was never warned of the dangers of breathing in asbestos dust and fibres. We were very close and before he died Edward came to live with me and my partner Al at our house and we nursed him.”
Representing Mrs Hughes, Steven Dickens from Thompsons Solicitors in Manchester, comments: “This was a very sad and difficult case because at the time of Ted's death we had not been able to trace his former employer’s insurers. Two companies had historically operated as the Blackpool Tower Company. One of these companies had changed its name to EMI Blackpool Limited and had stopped trading in 1981. It was only when we were able to locate this company's insurers in 2007 that we were finally able to progress Mr Hughes' case. We are all delighted that the case has now concluded successfully.”
Mesothelioma is quite a rare cancer but it is becoming more common. Over 2,100 people were diagnosed in the UK in 2003, and of those, there are four times as many cases in men as in women. This is no doubt due to the deadly legacy of asbestos exposure at work which is now claiming the lives of many men in their 70s and 80s.
Industrial Disease Claim Advice
If you or a member of your family is suffering from an asbestos related illness, or any other industrial disease, we may be able to assist you in recovering damages.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511 for sympathetic, expert legal advice, or complete a claim enquiry form online and we will contact you.
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