The Man Worked On The Refurbishment Of Warrington’s Odeon Cinema And Manchester’s Palace Theatre

A retired painter and labourer, who worked on the refurbishment of the Palace Theatre and was diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease last year, is calling on ex-colleagues from several jobs he held in Manchester across a 20-year period to come forward and help him gain answers regarding his illness.

Alan Grimshaw, 72, who now lives in High Peak in Derbyshire, was informed he had developed asbestos-related pleural thickening in November 2017 after he had reported several symptoms including breathlessness to his GP.

Following his diagnosis, he instructed asbestos-related disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester office to launch an investigation into how he developed the illness and whether more could have been done to prevent his contact with asbestos.

Now, as part of their efforts, the legal experts are seeking more information about the working conditions that Alan would have faced in several jobs he held in Manchester between the 1960s and 1980s, including:

• His role as a painter and decorator at Harry Hubbard Decorators in Rusholme between 1962 and 1964
• A similar position with Withington-based company Walter Williams Decorators from 1964 to 1966 and then from 1966 to 1968
• A two to three-month stint at GR Holding in 1965 working on the refurbishment of both Warrington’s Odeon cinema and Manchester’s Palace Theatre
• Eleven months of commercial painting and decorating work on various properties across Manchester for Trafford Warehouses Ltd in 1968
• His role as a labourer between 1980 and 1981 for Morris Roofing, also known as Manchester Slate Company.

Armon Momenabadi, the specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester office who is representing Alan, said: “Our client is understandably devastated by the diagnosis he has received, but is also determined to get answers regarding how he was exposed to asbestos and whether he should have been better protected from the risks of the material

“Sadly this case is like a great number we are involved in up and down the country, in which individuals with a background in construction, refurbishment and industrial work develop asbestos-related disease many years after the initial exposure to the material is thought to have taken place.

“We would be hugely grateful to anyone who may have information which could help our ongoing enquiries into Alan’s case.”

During his time at Harry Hubbard Decorators and Walter Williams Decorators, Alan recalled tasks including sanding down asbestos guttering, cutting asbestos boards for fire-proofing and also mixing and applying asbestos-based artex to ceilings. The latter task is also something he recalled from his short period at GF Holding.

When he moved to Trafford Warehouses Ltd, which was owned by Great Universal Stores, his commercial decorating work involved sanding and painting asbestos guttering on mills and other buildings across Manchester. As part of his work at Morris Roofing, he recalls having to rip out asbestos insulation board from slated roof and replacing it with timber.

Alan, who was married to his wife Ann for 17 years prior to her death in April 2015, said: “It has been very frustrating to deal with the news of my diagnosis, particularly when it looks like the problems I have faced may have been caused by work.

“I would be hugely grateful to anyone who either worked with me in those jobs or was employed in the same period to come forward and share any information they may have about asbestos being present. It could make a huge difference to my efforts to gain justice regarding what I am facing.”

Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact Armon Momenabadi at Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester office on 0161 838 3099 or email Armon.Momenabadi@IrwinMitchell.com. 

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