We never stop fighting the injustice of industrial disease
Jack Waller – from our London office – reflects on our ongoing struggle against industrial disease as historic exposure to asbestos dust continues to make life – and death – a misery for those afflicted…
Last week the names of over 100 people who died from mesothelioma – the deadly cancer caused by inhalation of asbestos dust – were projected across the walls of Derby Cathedral.
The event highlighted the continuing tragedy of people whose lives are cut short as a result of exposure to asbestos dust. This exposure usually happened at least 30 years prior to a diagnosis of mesothelioma, and often at work – quite possibly as a result of their employer’s negligence.
The Health & Safety Executive estimates that the number of people diagnosed annually with mesothelioma will continue to rise until the year 2016. An expected decline after 2016 reflects the fact that such exposure diminished from the mid-1960s onwards as employers started to appreciate the deadly dangers of the ‘magic mineral’.
28th April 2012 is Workers’ Memorial Day – an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work. Its slogan is ‘Remember the dead: fight for the living’, and the TUC will be staging events to raise awareness of the fact that – every year – more people are killed at work than in wars.
We are a firm with a long and proud history of acting for trade unions and their members. We continue to fight for working people who’ve been injured or killed at work, and to campaign for better and more effective health and safety laws.
We have a specialist industrial disease team with particular expertise in mesothelioma and all other asbestos-related illnesses. We’ve dealt with thousands of industrial disease claims over many decades. And, through our trade union contacts, we’re frequently able to locate old work colleagues or Union officials to act as witnesses – often the most crucial element in bringing a successful claim.
If you’d like more information about our industrial disease team, please visit our website http://www.industrialdiseaseexperts.co.uk