Mesothelioma Medical

17 Feb 2007

Debra Brewer, A British woman is suing the Ministry of Defence for a compensation of 75,000 pounds. Her claim is that she contracted mesothelioma, a malignant tumor of the covering of the lung or the lining of the pleural and abdominal cavities often associated with exposure to asbestos, from hugging her father. She is 47 years old.

Her father Phillip Northmore had worked as a lagger at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth for five years during the 1960s when she was a child. He died of a cancer in August 2006 and further investigations proved that his disease was connected to asbestos.

“I remember my dad would always arrive home from work covered in dust. But as a young child, I never imagined as I played with my dad, the dust he was coated in could be a life threatening,” said Mrs. Brewer.
 
She told that she felt a lot of anger at developing the mortal disease. "Not towards my dad because he didn't know. None of this is his fault," she said, “Anger that my future has been taken away, I have got three children and I expect to be there for them, and I don't know if I am going to be. That's very hard to deal with."
 
Mrs. Brewer initially felt breathing difficulties in 1994 however she was diagnosed with mesothelioma only in November 2006. And now her condition is terminal.
 
Through her solicitor, Mrs. Brewer will claim for a compensation for pain and suffering.
An MoD spokesman said they won’t mind paying the compensation if they were liable. "Once a claim has been made we have a very good record in paying compensation quickly where we have a liability," he said.
 
According to Dr. Jan van Meerbeeck, there is no known threshold for how much asbestos exposure is needed to cause mesothelioma. He is a professor of thoracic oncology at the University of Ghent in Belgium. He said that even a small amount could lead to mesothelioma if the exposure is intensive.
 
"What makes Debra's case so poignant is that she has never to her knowledge been exposed to asbestos dust in any other way. Her only exposure was from her father," said John Messham, industrial disease specialist at Debra's solicitor Bond Pearce.