Asbestos cancer sufferer denied workplace compensation due to loophole
A woman from Warwickshire who is seeking a compensation claim against her late father’s workplace has been told that she is not eligible for compensation as a result of a legal loophole.
Judith Tomlinson, 58, from Baginton near Coventry, has mesothelioma, a fatal asbestos-related cancer. She strongly believes that her father’s work overalls and company van could be responsible for how she contracted the disease.
Roland Adcock, Mrs Tomlinson’s father, was a foreman at construction firm Mason McCabe, based in Acocks Green, Birmingham, from 1958 to 1982. It is believed that he was exposed to asbestos when he worked on a contract in Castle Bromwich.
Despite the evidence, Mrs Tomlinson has been denied compensation because the company her father worked for has since closed down.
The current law allows workers suffering from industrial illnesses and injuries to claim compensation from their employers. If their firm has shut down, suffering workers can still file a claim against the firm’s insurers. However family and loved ones who have also been affected can only currently claim from a current firm.
Mrs Tomlinson’s solicitors have expressed that they are continuing to seek compensation for their client.
“We will continue to fight for compensation for Judith but at the present time the law is different for secondary victims – namely people who were not employees of the company using asbestos,” explained Alida Coates at Irwin Mitchell solicitors.