丷兦_銗錵圜

A car mechanic has won GBP 300,000 compensation from his former employers after he contracted lung cancer while working on cars with asbestos brake pads.

In 2003 Jonathan Hutchinson was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure that principally affects the lining of the lungs and lower digestive tract. In 2004 one of his lungs was removed, but the cancer is likely to return.

Hutchinson worked as a garage mechanic for a range of firms in the 1970s and 1980s and stripped out brake pads that contained asbestos dust. Once released into the air the asbestos dust would linger in the shop meaning there was a high risk of breathing in asbestos fibres. Also the mechanics would often get the asbestos dust on their hands, so there was a danger of them swallowing particles when eating. In total three companies were involved in the settlement, Wilcox and Co, Maytone V Ltd, and 205 Ltd (formerly Lex Motor). Despite settling the case the companies did not accept liability.

One of the main defendants was Wilcox & Co (limousines) ltd, and according to Hutchinson's solicitor they were able to obtain witness evidence to confirm that the workshops in which Hutchinson worked were "ridden with asbestos dust." According to the British Lung Foundation (BLF) more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in Britain, and someone dies from it every five hours. The Foundation claims that an epidemic of mesothelioma will peak in less than ten years, particularly affecting those now in their sixties who worked in the construction industry and their families.