Asbestos victims 'getting younger'
Asbestos victims 'getting younger'
Asbestos-related cancers are affecting more and more young people and women, according to a top occupational disease lawyer. Geraldine Coombs, who heads Irwin Mitchell's Manchester-based asbestos team, is representing a 27-year-old woman who is thought to be the youngest-ever victim of mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Ms Coombs said the Leigh Carlisle believes she developed the disease as a result of a short cut on her way to school which took her by a factory. Ms Carlisle said: 'I know that men working there cut asbestos sheets and handled asbestos materials in the yard, but I had no idea that by walking through the yard I could have inadvertently got cancer.' Ms Coombs said she was representing other relatively young women affected by a condition generally associated with men, particularly those working in the construction trades. 'We are also representing a nurse in her 40s who worked in a Tameside hospital where there was an asbestos removal programme. Historically, mesothelioma affected people in their 60s and 70s, but recently we have seen younger victims diagnosed, who were exposed to asbestos in unconventional ways.' The legal expert took a swipe at insurance companies that, she said, constantly seek to frustrate the compensation process even thought they know mesothelioma usually kills within two years. 'We try to complete cases within the lifetime of the victim, but insurers often do not make admissions of negligence and they look to take cases to trial. It's upsetting to see what clients go through and how much they suffer, but helping someone who is dying to get financial security for their families is very rewarding.'
Stay Updated
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox