Grandad refused No WIn No Fee Compensation
A GRANDFATHER who has watched four friends and former colleagues die of the same asbestos-related disease he suffers from, has been denied the right to claim compensation by the Court of Appeal.
Retired heating engineer David McGovern, from Woodhouses, worked for a Stretford firm called William Matthews between 1959 and 1978, where he used to lag boilers and heating pipes.
Six years ago he began having breathing problems and was diagnosed with pleural plaques – an irreversible scarring to the lungs and diaphragm caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.
The disease has had a profound affect on the 64-year-old, both physically and emotionally. Even the simplest household task like climbing the stairs leaves the once super-fit footballer and non- smoker gasping for air.
But it’s the fear that more serious respiratory diseases, such as mesothelioma or lung cancer, could develop that David and his family struggle to cope with – not least after watching David’s friends and former work colleagues die within a few years of each other.
David, of Medlock Road, is due to have his first x-ray in six years this week and will find out if the disease has spread.
“When I was first diagnosed it was hard for my family but we have come to live with it,” he said.
But added: “It worries me that the scarring on my lungs could develop into something more serious – especially after what I’ve seen happen to the others. There were five of us who were friends, and it’s just me left now.”
David is also battling prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with two years ago.
However, he has now been denied the chance of providing his family with financial security if anything happens to him.
Last month, the House of Lords upheld a 2006 ruling by the Court of Appeal that people exposed to asbestos can no longer claim compensation for pleural plaques. Apparently, it is considered by some specialists to be the most ‘benign’ of all asbestos-related diseases.
The verdict affects thousands and the trade union Amicus and law firms, including David’s, have pledged to fight to re-instate compensation.
David wants the compensation to help support his wife Christine, their three children and grandchild.
“This is an industrial injury where working with asbestos had consequences,” he added. “The exposure to asbestos was due to the negligence of my employers. I need to think about the future of my family.”
Tony Whitson, from the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims’ Support Group, said of pleural plaques: “This is a disease which affects working class people who were wrongly exposed to asbestos.
“It is all too easy for those who never risked their lives in industry to dismiss the suffering of so many who did.”