Family Instructs Specialists At Irwin Mitchell To Investigate How Husband Was Exposed To Hazardous Material

The widow of a former engineer is appealing to her husband’s ex-workmates for information following his death from asbestos-related cancer.

Alan Stevens, from Loughborough, sadly died after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer linked to exposure to asbestos decades previously.

Following the 78-year-old’s death, his family including widow Yvonne, instructed asbestos-related disease specialists at Irwin Mitchell to help investigate how Alan was exposed to the hazardous material.

Yvonne has now joined her legal team at Irwin Mitchell in appealing for information about conditions at machine tool manufacturer AA Jones & Shipman of Narborough Road South, Leicester, where Alan worked in the 1950s and 1960s.

Angela Davies, specialist asbestos-related disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is representing the family, said: “Alan’s death is yet another reminder of the tragic consequences of asbestos exposure. This deadly material has a terrible legacy which has gone on to affect too many lives.

“On behalf of Alan’s family, we would appeal for anyone who worked with him at AA Jones to come forward with information about the working conditions and safety precautions at the site. Such detail could prove vital in establishing where and how Alan was exposed to asbestos and help his family receive the justice they deserve.

“Yvonne and the rest of the family are still coming to terms with Alan’s death and they understandably have a number of questions about how Alan was exposed to the asbestos which caused his mesothelioma.”  

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Alan and Yvonne met in 1958 when they were both teenagers. The couple married in March 1956 and raised a family.

Before his death, Alan told Yvonne he had used asbestos at AA Jones & Shipman. Alan passed away on 18 January, 2018. An inquest at Leicester Coroner’s Court concluded that his death was due to an industrial disease.

Yvonne said: “Alan was everything to me. We were best friends and I still can’t believe he is no longer with us. All our family still misses him so much. To see him at the end of his life as the cancer got the better of him was heart-breaking.

“Whilst nothing can bring him back, our family now wants to know how Alan was exposed to the asbestos which caused his cancer. We would be hugely grateful to anyone who may recall working with Alan or has information which could help us.”

Anyone with information about working conditions at AA Jones & Shipman in the late 1950s and early 1960s should contact Angela Davies at Irwin Mitchell on 0114 274 4538 or email angela.davies@irwinmitchell.com