Specialist Lawyers Investigate Whether Husband Was Exposed to Harmful Material At Work

The widow of a former waiter has instructed specialist lawyers to investigate where her husband may have been exposed to asbestos whilst working at two central London hotels.

Ernesto Absulio was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma – a cancer caused by contact with asbestos dust – in January 2017. Unaware that his cancer was terminal the 68-year-old travelled to the Philippines to see his family. However, he died just a month later, shortly before he was due to return to the UK to start treatment.

After he died, Ernesto’s widow Violeta instructed the specialist asbestos-related disease team at Irwin Mitchell’s London office to help her gain answers regarding her late husband’s illness. As this had taken hold so quickly, Ernesto had been unable to provide information to Irwin Mitchell regarding his work history prior to his death.

Now, as part of their ongoing investigations, the legal experts and Violeta, 69, are using Workers’ Memorial Day to appeal to anyone who worked with Ernesto during his time at the Imperial Hotel and the Royal National, both in Bloomsbury, from 1990 until 2016, to come forward with information regarding the condition of the buildings and the possible presence of asbestos.

Expert Opinion

A case of this nature demonstrates the terrible impact that mesothelioma can have. It is terminal cancer and can be very aggressive once the symptoms begin to take hold.

“Although asbestos-related diseases are usually associated with construction and similar trades such as plumbers and electricians, cases involving workers in public buildings are becoming more common.

“We have been working carefully to piece together a full picture of Ernesto’s working life and, now, as part of our enquiries we would be keen to discover more about the two central London hotels where Ernesto worked.

“Such information could prove vital in terms of Violeta and the rest of Ernesto’s family obtaining the answers they undoubtedly deserve.” Natalia Rushworth-White - Associate Solicitor

Ernesto was born in the Philippines and moved to the UK in 1989. He lived in the Southwark area of London with Violeta.

His work as a waiter for the Imperial London Hotels Group saw him employed in restaurants at both the Imperial Hotel and the Royal National. He also helped at private events, functions and conferences in the hotels’ conference facilities.

Violeta understands that the fire doors within the hotels are likely to have contained an asbestos lining for fireproofing purposes. The hotels were redecorated and refurbished on a regular basis. During this time staff still had access to these areas and so Ernesto could have come into contact with any asbestos dust released by the building works.

Violeta said: “It was devastating to see how quickly mesothelioma took hold of Ernesto following his diagnosis and the entire family continues to miss him every single day. All we want is to understand how he came into contact with asbestos and whether it could have been prevented.

“I am aware that the fire doors in the hotels possibly contained an asbestos lining, and I know that staff could often access areas which were closed to the public during renovating and redecorating work.

“However, we desperately need more information in order to fully understand this situation. If anyone could help it would be hugely appreciated.

“Our family have so many questions about how Ernesto came to be exposed to asbestos and, while it cannot change what happened to him, we hope the answers will give us some peace and allow us to try and move on.

“We feel that more needs to be done to remove asbestos from public buildings to reduce the risk of problems for others in the future.”

Workers’ Memorial Day is marked annually on 28 April and is a day to ‘remember the dead and to fight for the living’ by paying respects to those who have died as a result of their employment and continuing to improve health and safety standards in the workplace. Events to commemorate the day are being held across the country.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Natalia Rushworth-White at Irwin Mitchell on 0207 421 3900 or email natalia.rusworthwhite@irwinmitchell.com

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling asbestos-related disease cases.