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Diagnosed with Mesothelioma after washing husbands' clothes |
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| Mrs P received payment for Mesothelioma Compensation of £90,000 |
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| This is an example of many cases we have dealt with where there has been secondary
exposure to asbestos. This usually occurs when the husband worked with asbestos and brought the dust
home on his clothing. His wife would then launder the clothes after shaking off the asbestos dust. This
was especially the case in the 1950s and 1960s when fewer people had washing machines and much of the
washing was done by hand. |
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Exposure to asbestos Liverpool Docks |
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| Mrs P did not come into contact with asbestos during her working life. When she
was diagnosed with Mesothelioma the consultant asked where and when she came into contact with asbestos.
They concluded that exposure must have been by laundering her husbands clothing. |
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| Mr P worked at Liverpool Docks from the 1960s to the mid 80s, he was a
stevedore, loading and unloading goods. Some of the cargo ships came from South Africa and Canada and
carried sacks of asbestos. He was not supplied with overalls and was dusty and dirty when
he returned home. |
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| Mrs P describes the asbestos exposure as follows: |
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| " He would leave his clothes on the floor in the bedroom. Mainly he used
to keep the same clothes all week long as they had not got too dirty. I used to then launder the clothes.
I used to take them into the yard and shake the dust off them, I then hand-washed everything in the sink.
We had a small spin dryer which I then used. Some days he came home covered in what looked like white
flour. I know that he unloaded a lot of different types of materials and that he would have worked with
asbestos. I cannot say how often this would have been, though I washed his clothes throughout his time
as a docker. " |
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| Asbestos exposure was confirmed by 2 witnesses who worked with Mr P at Liverpool Docks in the 1960s |
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| " Asbestos arrived in hessian bags, they were frail and ripped easily.
Our job was to hook them so that they could be hauled out of the hold. The asbestos was often stored in the
hold over copper and the bags used to rip on it. As it was lifted out of the hold, the amount of dust that
fell was tremendous. The dust was always there. It was like a snowstorm. We were covered in it. I was
ignorant as to what it was, but it got in my hair, nose, ears and clothes. " |
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Diagnosed with mesothelioma after secondary exposure to asbestos? |
| If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma from secondary asbestos exposure,
such as from washing clothes, we may be able to help. Contact our freephone number 0800 783 9535 and ask for one
of our senior specialists, Lynne Manners or Warren Miller. |
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