UK nurse files compensation claim against her former employers



St Helens Hospital , where Catherine Potter worked

As the St. Helens Star reports, Catherine Potter, 62, claimed that she was exposed to asbestos during work and had developed malignant mesothelioma. She launched a compensation claim against her former employers at the High Court for £200,000.

Ms. Potter worked as a cleaner at old St Helens Hospital for five years from 1979. She cleaned passages in the hospital, where asbestos was present. She said that workmen would go and clean the asbestos lagging and she was tasked with cleaning up the remaining asbestos dust. She claimed she was not giving any warning of the health risks of asbestos.

Ms. Potter first noticed chest problems in December 2009 and was diagnosed with mesothelioma in July 2010. Her lawyers said that he is looking for Mr. Potter's former co-worker who can help support her clam. He said, "It would be extremely helpful if anyone who worked at St Helens Hospital, particularly Bishop and Pilkington wards in the 1970s and 1980s can contact me."

Mesothelioma lawsuit ends in favor of late Welsh electrician's family

Aberthaw Power Station, where Mr. Vaughan worked for 32 years. (Photo courtesy of RWE npower)

The family of John Vaughan, a Welsh electrician who died of mesothelioma which he developed from asbestos exposure during his thirty two years at Aberthaw Power Station, were awarded “substantial compensation following a lengthy legal battle," according to the South Wales Echo.

Mr. Vaughan was 71 at the time of his death from mesothelioma. He left behind his wife Glenys, their three children, and six grandchildren. The Echo reports that Mr. Vaughan was exposed to asbestos while working at Aberthaw Power Station, which at the time he worked there was run by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). It is now run by RWE npower, the company against whom Mr. Vaughan's survivors filed a mesothelioma lawsuit. 


Many power plant employees have been exposed to asbestos, and Mr. Vaughan was exposed to asbestos dust "as he worked alongside laggers who were handling asbestos insulating materials." 

Llantwit Major coastline. (Photo courtesy of Baker-Lite)

Mr Vaughan, of Llantwit Major in South Wales, retired from Aberthaw Power Station 1992. His family said during his retirement, Mr. Vaughan enjoyed "walking, golf and family holidays." He began experiencing mesothelioma symptoms in late 2007, and was diagnosed with mesothelioma over a year later. The prognosis was six months to live.

The Vaughans filed a claim for compensation, but Mr. Vaughan died before anything was settled. Mr. Vaughan's widow Glenys pursued her late husband's claim in court, and was just recently awarded "an unspecified amount in an out-of-court settlement."

Mrs Vaughan told reporters: 

“My husband suffered terribly all because he dedicated himself to his job. He took great pride in working hard and making sure that, whatever project he was working on, he did it perfectly. In the end his hard work and dedication ultimately ended his life. 

“He was determined to pursue compensation because he wanted to make sure that his family were provided for. We’d much rather have him here beside us but we know that he’d feel vindicated that his employers have admitted responsibility for his death.”

Vindication and compensation: mesothelioma sufferers and their families deserve no less.

Edna White's family wins mesothelioma compensation, thanks to former coworkers

(Left: Edna White, around the time she worked at Lorival Plastics. Right: Edna with her grandchildren.)

In the United Kingdom as it is here in the United States, millions of people who worked in mills, plants, factories, construction sites, shipyards and in maintenance and repair were exposed to asbestos. The late Mrs. Edna White was one of those exposed to asbestos, which her family believed--and as the court recently ruled--happened while Mrs. White worked at Lorvial Plastics in Bolton (near Manchester) in the 1960s.

In an article last year, Mrs. White's daughter Jill Blake asked her mother's former coworkers to come forward with more information about Mrs. White's time at the Lorival Plastics:

Her daughter, who was a child when her mother worked at Lorival Plastics, wants to know exactly which job she did there. 

It is believed asbestos was used in the factory, which specialised in injection-moulded plastic products, to manufacture toilet cisterns and Mrs Blake believes she came into contact with it there.

In the 2010 article, Ms. Blake noted that her mother died of mesothelioma at the age of 68 in 2009, and that this did not have to be the case:

"She was so active before she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. ...A consultant who treated her said she would probably have had another 20 years if she had not had this disease - and that hurts."

Ms. Blake's efforts on behalf of her mother paid off:

Several people came forward to tell the family about Mrs White's work and contact with the deadly material [while] she was employed by the Little Lever company, which no longer exists, in the 1960s.
The information has brought Mrs White’s family justice, as well as answers as to how their mother came into contact with asbestos, as their legal battle has now been settled.

Anthony Bolton, identified in The Bolton News' April 6, 2011 article on the verdict in favor of Mrs. White's

 surviving family, said of the effect Ms. Blake's plea for help had on the case:

“Edna worked as a time and motion monitor.When her family first approached us for help we had no first hand information about her work history or working conditions at Lorival Plastics. 

“But following a witness appeal in The Bolton News we were contacted by several people, including one star witness who proved invaluable to the progression of the case. 

“Although nothing can make up for their tragic loss, Edna’s family now have the closure they need to move on and rebuild their lives.”

 Edna White's family sought help from both the community of Bolton and Little Lever, and from a mesothelioma lawyer. No one could give Mrs. White's family what they really wanted--twenty more years with their mother and grandmother--but, in Ms. Blake's words,

“It’s good to have answers but it’s been mixed feelings really, we are still dealing with our loss. It shows The Bolton News readers really can make a difference and we are very grateful.We hope this will encourage other people to answer appeals and raise awareness of asbestos and its impact.” 

We are glad that Mrs. White's family received the mesothelioma compensation they deserve, and we hope that all victims of asbestos exposure continue to explore their legal rights and asbestos legal options.