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Development of industrial disease prompts fireman's compensation claim |
A fireman who developed the lung disease mesothelioma has said he hopes to claim up to £200,000 from his former employer amid allegations of negligence.
William McCreadie, now 68, worked for the Essex Fire Authority between 1969 and 1974 and was called to many fires at industrial locations, the Thurrock Gazette reports.
He claims that he and his colleagues regularly had to pull lagging from pipes and were required to walk across sites contaminated with asbestos to ensure fires were completely out.
The victim said he believes this is when he was exposed to the deadly fibres that caused him to develop the industrial disease, which was diagnosed in September 2009.
Mr McCreadie said in his compensation claim that he had been offered no protection from asbestos by the fire brigade and insisted its negligence has caused him to contract mesothelioma.
Anyone affected by similar issues will need to seek the advice of an expert solicitor within three years of their diagnosis with an industrial disease in order to make a claim.
Simon Davis, a partner at Kester Cunningham John who specialises in asbestos-related disease claims, comments: "We are used to hearing of mesothelioma sufferers who worked in the building industry but there is no reason to expect that buildings full of asbestos present any less of a hazard to those who have to work in the ruins.
"Asbestos is the most fire-resistant substance known to man and will continue to present the same danger even after the building in which it was used is destroyed. It will be interesting to see how Mr McCreadie gets on."
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