Irwin Mitchell Instructed To Help Wife And Children Gain Justice

The family of a former electrician is using Workers’ Memorial Day to appeal for help to establish how he contracted the asbestos-related cancer which claimed his life.

Peter Golding died from mesothelioma, aged 64, four months after being diagnosed with the disease which can develop decades after exposure to harmful asbestos. Peter’s strain of mesothelioma was sarcomatiod – the least common and most aggressive form of the cancer.

Following Peter’s death his family instructed specialist asbestos-related disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate whether he was exposed to the harmful material during his time working on the London Underground or when helping to refurbish department stores in the Marble Arch area of London.

Peter’s legal team at Irwin Mitchell is now joining his widow, Elaine and the couple’s children, Lee, 39, and 36-year-old Kim, in appealing to Peter’s former colleagues to come forward with information about conditions at his former work places.

Lacey St James, specialist asbestos-related disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the family said: “Workers’ Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have died in the workplace but to also campaign for improvements. Peter’s death is yet another case which demonstrates the shocking legacy that asbestos has had on so many lives.

“Because Peter’s condition quickly deteriorated following his diagnosis he was unable to give full details about his working life before his death.

“We are now appealing to any former work-friends of Peter’s to come forward with vital information about conditions at the sites where he worked so that Elaine, Lee and Kim can find out what caused the mesothelioma which took his life.

“Any information provided could prove vital in our efforts to ensure that Peter’s family gets both the answers and justice it deserves.”

Peter grew up in Tottenham, North London, and was one of seven brothers and sisters. He was a keen Tottenham Hotspurs fan and would regularly play golf at Basildon Golf Club and also Canvey Island Golf Club.

Peter, who moved to Canvey Island with Elaine in 1974, visited his GP in February 2016 when he started to feel pain in his arm. Following hospital tests he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and died on 24 June, 2016.

Before his death he recalled how he helped refurbish various stores in London in the 1980s and also worked for Transport for London between 1996-1999 and 2003-2016. Peter helped refurbish underground stations, including working in the switch rooms of Baker Street station. He also helped overhaul escalators and ran cabling into ceilings at many stations. Peter told his family that working conditions would often be dusty.  

Elaine, 63, said: “Peter was always fit and healthy so we never expected that what started out as pain in his arm would end in him dying just a few months later. He wanted to keep on working but as long as possible but had to give up work because of his illness.

“Peter was a great husband and dad and we still can’t believe he isn’t with us anymore. To see him in so much pain as the mesothelioma took hold was horrible.

“Our family will never be the same now without him. While we know nothing can ever make up for his death but we just want to find out where he was exposed to asbestos. We would be so grateful to anyone who came forward with information, no matter how minor they may feel it is.”

Anyone with information about working conditions at the sites Peter was employed at should contact Lacey St James at Irwin Mitchell on 0207 421 4754 or email lacey.stjames@irwinmitchell.com

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.

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