General Chat

Can't help but mention a regular newspaper advertisement I often notice

concerning the above. Have you been exposed to asbestos ?

If you are suffering from one of the following, Lung Cancer,Asbestosis,

Mesothelioma, Pleural Thickening. Even if someone who has has passed away

within three years, "YOU COULD BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION"

Even if your former employer is no long in business !?

What about the thousands of negro miners who got the stuff out of the

ground, without protection, who have since died ? What about them ?

I owned and lived in a house that had wall and central heating air ducts

lined with the stuff, as did thousands of others.

There's a lot of ifs in the Solicitors advertisements. IF it could be proven that

having worked with this product was the cause, who is going to pay the

compensation ?The NHS ? it's not their fault. The employers ? They used it in

ignorance of health regulations (?) A lot of ifs.

"As President Donald Trump's industry-friendly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) takes steps to loosen restrictions on the commercial use of asbestos—which is known to cause cancer and lung disease—an analysis of federal data published Tuesday found that asbestos imports to the U.S. surged by nearly 2,000 percent between July and August of this year."

Life is cheap

:-(

Rose, I do feel sorry for people in the building trade and in particular

heating engineers who regularly use this product for its heat resistant

properties. Asbestos flue pipes were common place.

I'd one such in a former address where the central heating unit in the garage

was forced air heating through ducts to every room. The boiler was clad in

asbestos and the garage ceiling was asbestos, so dust from the unit and

garage was blown throughout the house :-0

God only knows what was ingested during & after the Grenfell Tower fire.

Look at the aftermath here of 9/11
https://eu.lohud.com/story/opinion/perspective/2018/09/06/deaths-9-11-aftermath-soon-outpace-number-killed-sept-11/1137572002/

Far too much asbestos was used during the construction of the WTC.

Much of this blown as far as it would travel following as tower 1 & 2 fell.

I read on another site that NY fire fighters spent 5 days picking up body parts.

My brother in law died of mesothelioma 12 years ago.
My ex was working at the same place, so he provided the evidence of the shoddy arrangements (they weren't actually working with asbestos, just near to where those in protective gear were).
The firm responsible had been taken over - and they had to pay compensation.

Just like to add, that all four of us were living in the same house at the time...

It's strange that someone who was not his employer should have to

assume responsibility and pay compensation. Are they insured against

such eventuality ? Would the insurer determine how much to pay ?

Who pays the Law firm ? The Government ?

I don't know if they were insured - that's their responsibility, but if you take over a company, you take over their responsibilities.
There are some amazing lawyers out there, who will fight asbestos cases either for nothing, or for a nominal fee, this is because the dangers have been known about since the 19th century, and those who ignore them deserve all they get.
I think compensation is fairly fixed.

However, the company did put up a fight, and the compensation arrived two days before he died.

At least my brother in law didn't have to go to assessments to see if he was fit for work!

I'm pleased they compensated him Maggie., it shows they felt a responsibility.

Some businesses are limited, that is they have limited liability.

After WW11 thousands of prefabricated houses were built to replace those

blitzed. They were only meant to last a limited time, but many are still standing.

They had/have a very high percentage of asbestos in their structure.

Installed asbestos in building structures left undisturbed is usually safe, Asbestros in plant, especially mobile plant such as ships, is another matter.

New use of asbestos in the EU has been illegal for a long time.

Where installed asbestos in plant, machinery has to be removed or buildings demolished then a great deal of care has to be taken.

Where compensation has to be paid it has nothing at all to do with company law and limited liability. Such liability is confined to trading operations. Health matters such as asbestos are covered by building and plant iinsurance for which the upper limit is determined by law. When an insurance company eg Axxa takes over other insurance companies eg Norwich Union it also inherits historic liabilities such as asbestos claims.

I'm sure most people will know already, but Artex ceilings pre 80s may contain asbestos, if you want to remove you can test a sample for about £36 first. Considering it for our bathroom, as ex council house and l/r bathroom and bedroom all have it, hateful stuff never could figure why it was so popular at one time ( nor woodchip).

There are likely to be several schools - built in a certain era - that have not yet been decontaminated.

Asbestos was removed a few years ago from two in our local area but I suspect that it's often safer to leave them alone if walls aren't damaged, the danger being when walls are holed allowing seepage.

About 20 years ago I lived in a mid terrace former council house that I'd a

mortgage on. I'd ducted air central heating as did the neighbours.

The council chose to install balanced flue gas boilers and radiators in their houses

and remove the ducting as well as the old boilers. The operatives that carried out

this work wore special and masks. They wrapped the boilers in heavy duty

plastic. They were all layed in the kerb awaiting collection for disposal.

I spent an afternoon stripping most of their component parts as many of them

were obsolete. Needless to say I was covered in asbestos dust, but I'd lived

with it for many years. Years later I'm still here.

Steve McQueen died aged 50 suffering from Mesothelioma

My brother in law was 55 when he died.

Actually, rolo, the company WERE involved, but what would I know?
I'm certainly not going to explain what happened to you, but each case is individual.
Failed mansplaining again.

The post war prefabs were laden with asbestos, too.

The WA State Government has taken firm action over the Wittenoom asbestos mine in the North of the State.

The preamble to the most recent legislation gives a good oversight as does the snippet from the Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia

http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/C59D8C3F862E8E4D482583C30019C7CD/$File/EM%2B120-1.pdf

https://www.asbestosdiseases.org.au/asbestos-info/the-wittenoom-tragedy/

Where not to go for your holidays.
This company a a major contributor to US Republicans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3piCUPIkc

Has anybody posted this info? I'm not seeing it. Easy for google to find.

https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/asbestos-related-conditions/benefits-and-compensation

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asbestos-victims-to-get-123000-in-compensation

In countries where asbestos exposure on the job has caused so much misery, governments have generally set up compensation funds.

That is where the money is coming from that the solicitors are talking about.

My attic has asbestos particles in the loose vermiculite insulation throughout, between the joists. I got ripped off by cowboys I hired for the abatement. I now have to have it redone. I had planned to just leave it alone since it is not problematic if it is sealed off and not disturbed, as is the case, but I need better insulation ... and I discovered that all the old bad wiring runs through the attic under the vermiculite ... The pre-purchase surveyor who recommended leaving it alone didn't point that bit out.

Anyway here is what the gov.uk site from 2014 says.

* Victims of the fatal asbestos-induced cancer mesothelioma who can’t trace a liable employer or an employers’ liability insurer will soon be able to apply for compensation packages worth an average of £123,000. The government has increased this from the initial £115,000 debated in the House of Commons in January after making savings in the administration costs of the scheme.

* Around 3,500 victims of the aggressive cancer or their families can apply for compensation from next month and will receive a payment of around £123,000 from July this year, as part of a £380 million package.