Specialist Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell Instructed To Help Family
The family of a former factory worker who died from an asbestos-related cancer is appealing for her former colleagues to come forward to help with an investigation into how she was exposed to the deadly dust.Shouna English, formerly of Rossington, Doncaster, died on 22 February 2013, just three weeks after her diagnosis of mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lungs, aged 69.
An inquest was held on 1 October 2013 and the diagnosis of mesothelioma was confirmed.
Shouna’s family have now instructed asbestos lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate when and where she was exposed to the material and to find out if more could have been done to protect her.
During the 1960s, Shouna, who was also known as Sally, worked for Glass Bulbs Limited, which has now been dissolved, at their factory on Snape Lane in Harworth, Doncaster.
Working in the main part of the factory, her job was to pack bulbs from a conveyor belt which was made of asbestos and carried hot glass products. She also wore asbestos gloves on a daily basis and worked with asbestos tape and friction pads.
As Shouna worked in the main part of the factory, she may have also worked in the close vicinity of heating and plumbing engineers, who regularly carried out repair and maintenance work to the pipes, which were lagged with wet mix asbestos cement.
At the time of her employment, Rossington was populated with many migrant workers from Scotland and the North East and Shouna herself was originally from Scotland and she spoke with a Scottish accent.
The family, backed by their legal team at Irwin Mitchell, are now appealing for Shouna’s former work colleagues to come forward with any information about working conditions at Glass Bulbs Limited.
Laura Haigh, a specialist asbestos lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Sheffield office, said: “Mesothelioma is a relatively rare but aggressive and incurable form of cancer which causes so much suffering for victims, such as Mrs English, who worked in industries where asbestos was regularly used.
“Tragically, many employers did not do enough to manage the risk of asbestos exposure, despite knowing how dangerous it is, and we are now investigating whether more could have been done to protect Mrs English.
“We hope that anyone who can recall the working conditions at Glass Bulbs Limited during the 1960s will get in touch as their information could prove vital in securing justice for Mrs English’s family.”
The family added: “We hope that anyone who thinks they can help will get in touch with our legal team as quickly as possible.”
Anyone who may be able to help with information about the working conditions at Glass Bulbs Ltd in Harworth, during the 1960’s, should contact Laura Haigh at Irwin Mitchell on 0114 274 4420 or email laura.haigh@irwinmitchell.com
If you or a loved one has been affected by an asbestos related illness, our solicitors can help you to claim compensation. See our Asbestos Claims page for more information.