Roger Maddocks of law firm Irwin Mitchell, was speaking ahead of Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28th 2010. This year the day is being officially recognised by the UK Government for the first time.
He said the fight for justice for those who died as a result of illness caused by work conditions, such as exposure to asbestos, would carry on as long as there are employers that do not take health and safety seriously.
“Thousands of people still die each year in the UK as a direct result of being made to work in unsafe conditions. Health and safety has come a long way in recent years but the figures show there is still much to do,” he added.
“Sometimes they are the victims of tragic but avoidable accidents, or, as with many of our clients, they were exposed to asbestos by their employers many years ago and have, in most cases, been made to suffer a terrible death as a result.”
A number of events and fundraising activities are taking place across the country to mark the day.
Case study
A leading industrial diseases lawyer has urged former colleagues of a Barrow Mesothelioma victim to come forward and help his family achieve justice.
Terence Whittall, of Rawlinson Street, Barrow in Furness, was 71 when he was diagnosed with the asbestos-related lung disease Mesothelioma.
His family says he was always fit and healthy until the diagnosis – and he died just four months later in January 2009.
His lawyer, Roger Maddocks, partner and industrial illness expert at Irwin Mitchell, says Mr Whittall’s exposure to asbestos is likely to have taken place while he worked at Vickers Armstrong – briefly as a school leaver, aged 14 in 1951, and then later for a long period between 1964 and 1992.
Mr Maddocks says anyone who worked at Vickers Armstrong during this time may be able to help a compensation settlement which is being pursued on behalf of Mr Whittall’s family.
“Mr Whittall is another tragic example of the devastating speed with which Mesothelioma can take someone’s life. One minute, he was a healthy 71-year-old enjoying his retirement, the next he was stricken with a fatal disease,” he said.
“The disease can take so long to develop after the exposure to asbestos that it often comes as a complete, and shocking, surprise.
“Unfortunately, it is a familiar story in places like Barrow, whose proud shipbuilding history has left a deadly legacy.
“We urgently need help from anyone who worked in the boiler room or the workshops at Vickers in a bid to achieve justice for Mr Whittall’s family. Nothing can ever bring him back and no amount compensation can make up for their loss, but it may be able to provide them with a crumb of comfort.
“Mr Whittall spent a lot of time working in the boiler room and also in the workshop where asbestos-coated boilers would come in for repair,” he said.
“He also remembered working there when the Flying Scotsman came in to be worked on. Anyone who can recall the working conditions in these rooms at this time will be able to help.”
Anybody who may be able to help should contact Roger Maddocks or Jennifer Tait on 0191 279 0095.