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Following a campaign led by two West Lancashire pensioners, hundreds of former dockers can sue the government for health hazards due to asbestos exposure. A High Court test case decision brought by John Pickering and partners LLP on behalf of a Scarisbrick man and an Ormskirk widow has been supported by the Court of Appeal.
Edward, the husband of Winifred Rice, 72, died in 2000 after diagnosed with mesothelioma, a malignant tumor of the mesothelium caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. He was 67 then. Last year, Winifred and disabled former docker Robert Thompson, 65, took on the Department of Trade and Industry however, their original High Court victory from last June was challenged by government lawyers from the DTI.
The dockers compensation claims could have been blocked by a successful appeal. However, according to the present decision, hundreds could be compensated by the government.
Mrs Rice, from Whittle Drive, Ormskirk was extremely satisfied of the decision.
“I feel relieved, because I’ve been fighting for this for seven years. I’m not bothered about compensation, only justice, and I think that justice has been done and I’m over the moon. Edward would have been made up," she said.
Kevin Johnson, a partner at John Pickering and Partners LLP also seemed to be highly pleased with the decision.
"The Court of Appeal has given former dock workers and their families the lifeline to financial security that they so badly needed. By the time these men become ill through asbestos, they can't trace and pursue many of the private dock companies that employed them. But the dock labour boards knew they were exposing the men to harm by allowing them to work unprotected," he said.
Exposure to asbestos can cause many diseases, including the deadly cancer mesothelioma.
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