£145,000 pay out for Wroughton widow of asbestos victim (From Swindon Advertiser)

£145,000 pay out for Wroughton widow of asbestos victim

8:00pm Tuesday 8th January 2013 in News By Josh Layton

A WOMAN has received £145,000 in compensation from British Rail following the death of her husband from asbestos exposure.

Sheila Simpson, of Wroughton, brought the case after a post-mortem examination showed her husband, Robin, died from mesothelioma – less than a year after he started to feel unwell.

The settlement was reached out of court, with British Rail also agreeing to pay all legal costs.

Mrs Simpson was represented by Brigitte Chandler, a leading industrial disease lawyer and partner with Swindon law firm, Charles Lucas & Marshall, who has represented many hundreds of railway workers over the last 30 years.

Ms Chandler said Mr Simpson's condition was only diagnosed after his death and the case showed how long it can take for asbestos disease to develop.

Mr Simpson joined British Rail at the age of 15 and became a coach builder. He worked in a number of railway shops where he was extensively exposed to asbestos.

“A number of coach builders have died from asbestos exposure at the Swindon railway works,” said Ms Chandler.

“British Rail is now well aware of the extent of this problem and the fact that so many people who worked there have become ill.

“Mr Simpson would first have been exposed at British Rail in 1950 so it has typically taken 60 years for the disease to develop.

“The figures are likely to continue rising over the next 10 years.”

Dozens of men and women are dying every year from what has been labelled the ‘Swindon Disease’ as the deadly legacy of workplace exposure to asbestos continues to takes its toll.

The region is part of a wider timebomb which, under the worst-case scenario, could claim 2,100 lives nationally at its peak in 2016.

Swindon and South West Asbestos Group is a regional charity which provides support groups and a free advice service to people suffering from asbestos disease and their families.

For further details contact Swindon and South West Asbestos Group, telephone 01793 532995 email: info@asbestosgroup.co.uk or visit www.asbestosgroup.co.uk