A builder has died after asbestos exposure at work caused mesothelioma cancer decades later.

George Large worked at Crosfields factory as a builder during the 1950s. At a Coroner’s inquest in Warrington, Mr Large’s description of working conditions at the factory was read out in court. In it he said that no protective equipment was given to workers in the factory to defend them from the deadly dust in the air.

Numerous pipes in the factory were lagged with asbestos, and Mr Large was subsequently exposed when this lagging was ripped down. The dust in the air was visible and covered his clothes, and unfortunately contaminated his lungs.

The Warrington Guardian newspaper reports that Mr Large stopped working with asbestos in 1957 but the legacy of exposure would come back to greatly effect his health. Last year he was diagnosed with mesolthelioma – an incurable form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos – and after a five month battle he sadly passed away in May.

Coroner Janet Napier decided that Mr Large had died from industrial disease.

A retired electrician has won his industrial deafness claim and received compensation for his hearing loss.

Eric Knight worked for 50 years as an electrical installation worker, from the mid 1950s until his retirement in 2004. His work for Arthur Ford Limited consisted of installing electrical setups in various locations including schools and hospitals. Many times though these installations would take place in industrial locations such as factories and manufacturing works.

Working in these locations would involve being surrounded by extremely loud and noisy machinery all day long, and for numerous years Mr Knight was not provided with ear protection by his employer. His employer later provided ear protection to its workers, but for Eric the damage was already done.

This daily exposure to unacceptable levels of noise without protection has left Mr Knight with permanent hearing loss. He claimed compensation from his former employers, and in an out of court settlement he was awarded £3,500 in damages.

A 77 year old man has died from mesothelioma just weeks after he won his long battle to claim asbestos compensation.

John Manniex was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2009 and sadly passed away after a long battle with the incurable illness just recently. Mesothelioma is caused exclusively by the inhalation of asbestos fibres and takes years to develop.

The Manchester Evening News is reporting that Mr Manniex worked for Mee & Cocker Ltd during the 1960s. They worked flattening prefabricated houses, which often used asbestos as part of the building materials.

After a year long legal wrangle the company’s former insurers agreed to pay compensation to Mr Manniex. The company had originally denied that asbestos was present in the work that they carried out, but they were quickly forced to change this stance when evidence came to light. Although John got to see justice in his lifetime, he sadly passed away just weeks after the settlement in June.

A widow has continued a legal battle after her husband’s death and won an industrial deafness claim on his behalf.

Thomas Keefe worked for 35 years on the Steam Packet ferry between Liverpool and the Isle of Man. He worked in the kitchens as a cook as the ferries repeatedly crossed the Irish Sea.

In 2004 he launched an industrial deafness claim against the Steam Packet Company after discovering he had noise induced hearing loss. Unfortunately though, Mr Keefe passed away before the end of his long legal case. His widow Carol did not give up on the cause and has just won £3180 in compensation for his injuries.

Manx Radio reports that the Court of Appeal in London ruled in favour of Ms Keefe after an initial decision had favoured the company. In addition to paying compensation, the Steam Packet company has also been ordered to pay the legal costs of the case, which due to the unusual length of the battle are expected to be anywhere in the region of £20,000 to £50,000.

Calor Gas Ltd has been fined £27,500 after a gas leak caused a cloud of flammable liquefied petroleum to form above the firm’s Essex terminal.

The company admitted breaches of health and safety regulations, after around 163 tonnes of LPG made its way into the atmosphere.

The gas, stored in liquid form in the pipes, managed to escape while a ship was unloading it to Calor’s Canvey Island site on the 27th October 2008. When it made contact with the ground, the liquid evaporated into a vapour cloud which settled above the site.

LPG is a highly flammable substance, which if ignited can cause serious explosion or fire. In a gas form it can have a volume of up to 250 times bigger than the liquid substance.

The HSE found that Calor Gas Ltd had not taken the appropriate steps to prevent the incident from occurring. They were also criticised for not informing the HSE about the gas in the atmosphere.

Health and Safety spokesman Peter Hornsby said: “This could have had the potential of becoming a catastrophic event. HSE will not hesitate to prosecute companies who fail to provide security to their staff and the public through neglecting health and safety procedures.”

A retired pipe fitter from Trent Vale has won his asbestos compensation claim against Michelin Tyres after developing asbestosis.

Roy Ibbs suffers from the respiratory condition asbestosis after working at the Stoke factory for 16 years. As well as suffering from breathlessness, Mr Ibbs has to live with the knowledge that he has an increased risk of developing mesothelioma or asbestos related lung cancer. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer which affects the lining of the lungs.

Mr Ibbs’ asbestosis was proved to be liable to the Michelin factory working conditions at a High Court ruling this week. Working as a pipe fitter, he was exposed to great clouds of asbestos dust while carrying out maintenance work. The pipes were layered with asbestos, causing significant exposure to Mr Ibbs.

Michelin had offered £20,000 to settle the case out of court, but Mr Ibbs’ legal team believed the case to be worth £35,000. The judge awarded him £23,300 in asbestos compensation. The award would have been higher if Mr Ibbs was not also suffering from two other non asbestos related conditions. However, the judgement could lead to hundreds of similar claims from former Michelin workers.

An investigation into allegations of fraud involving miner’s vibration white finger claims by the Union of Democratic Mineworkers has been dropped.

The investigation had been ongoing since 2005 by the Serious Fraud Office and South Yorkshire Police. It was investigating the allegation that the Union diverted money owed to its Nottingham members to a legal services firm. The Union of Democratic Mineworkers was processing compensation claims for miners who have suffered industrial illness as a result of conditions in the mines. The investigation however has been dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The investigation centred on the insinuation that millions of pounds that was entitled to the miners in compensation, was in fact paid to solicitors by the Union. The Union of Democratic Mineworkers had around 1,300 members at the time.

This news comes at a time that many law firms are now urging miners to ‘claim again’ for chronic illnesses like vibration white finger. This is because many miners are thought to have been given bad legal advice on their original claim which meant that they did not receive the full amount of compensation that they were entitled to.