News

​With a death rate from asbestos disease of almost 14 people a day in the UK, according to HSE Asbestos Disease Statistics of 2019, we are, sadly, used to hearing about deaths from mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer or asbestosis. It’s not that one becomes immune from the tragedy of asbestos disease. However, because of the long latency period that there is between being exposed to asbestos and someone presenting at their GPs surgery with symptoms that turn out to be those of asbestos-related diseases, it is easy to class asbestos disease only as an occupational illness. The vast majority of those [...]

At Asbestos Awareness we monitor the press daily to find items of news relating to asbestos and asbestos disease. It’s probably fair to say, that almost every day we read new stories about deaths from asbestos diseases, such as mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer and asbestosis. We see appeals from the family of deceased asbestos victims, for former colleagues of their loved one, to come forward and help piece together a picture about how their father or brother came into contact with asbestos in their working lives. We read about the wives and daughters of former asbestos workers who have died from [...]

It seems to be the case, that the dangers of asbestos and asbestos disease, are being much more widely talked about in the media than has previously been the case. Why is asbestos in the news much more these days? There are probably several reasons for this. It had been thought that by now, the numbers of new cases of asbestos disease being diagnosed each year would have started to fall. In 2005, The British Journal of Cancer published an article which suggested that the numbers of new cases of mesothelioma (a cancer caused solely by asbestos exposure) being diagnosed, would [...]

Asbestos disease compensation claims are still being made by people who were exposed at work, many years ago. There were 2595 deaths from mesothelioma in 2016 and an estimated similar number of people died from asbestos related lung cancer in the same year. Asbestos has brought death and misery to many thousands of workers and their families worldwide. The reason it is still doing so, long after it was banned in the UK, is because it takes a long time for asbestos-related illnesses to develop and be diagnosed. The period between being exposed to the mineral's deadly dust and fibres, and [...]

New asbestos disease claims are being brought each week by expert asbestos and mesothelioma solicitors on behalf of some of the thousands of people who are living with asbestos illness in the UK. According to the British Lung Foundation, in 2012 in the UK, there were approximately 5400 people living with mesothelioma alone. (Mesothelioma is a form of cancer, the singular cause of which is almost always exposure to asbestos.) There are a number of other types of asbestos illness too. These are; - Asbestos related lung cancer - Asbestosis - Pleural Thickening All of the people currently suffering from asbestos [...]

​If you have recently been diagnosed with an asbestos disease you may be considering making a claim for asbestos disease compensation. How do you go about doing this? Who do you turn to? A solicitor, yes, but how do you find the right one? Someone who really knows what they are doing in this area of law? An expert, from a firm of mesothelioma and asbestos law solicitors? Someone who will not only get the most compensation possible for you and your family, but make the experience as stress free as they can, too? After all, having just been diagnosed with [...]

Mesothelioma is a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It is a disease that develops over many years. It can take up to 50 years from exposure taking place before the disease itself takes hold. This time period is referred to as the latency period. As a result of this, it is usually (although not always) the more elderly members of society that worked in asbestos-hazardous environments, who get the disease. Once the disease has been diagnosed, sadly it almost always has a fatal outcome. Progression of the illness, once it takes hold, is fairly rapid. As of yet, there is [...]

Whilst doing research for this article, a reference to the legendary American actor, Steve McQueen was noted. It indicated that he died from asbestosis. After delving a little deeper however, it became apparent that McQueen had got the disease of mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, which he himself put down to being caused by exposure to asbestos whilst removing asbestos lagging on board ships, during his time as a marine in the US Department of the Navy. This slightly unusual opening to an article about asbestosis, is to highlight a common misconception that many people hold, [...]

There are five main asbestos conditions that can affect those who have been exposed to asbestos fibres or dust. They are; - Mesothelioma - Asbestos Related Lung Cancer - Asbestosis - Pleural Thickening - Pleural Plaques Of these conditions, two are cancerous - Mesothelioma and Asbestos Related Lung Cancer. Asbestosis, Pleural Thickening and Pleural Plaques are not cancerous. Most people have heard of asbestosis, not least because it is often wrongly used as a generic term for all asbestos diseases and illnesses. Some may have heard of Pleural Plaques, which is the least serious of all the asbestos conditions and for [...]

What are the main asbestos diseases that people get? The main asbestos diseases are; - Mesothelioma - Asbestosis - Pleural Thickening - Asbestos lung cancer - Pleural plaques Out of the five diseases listed, it is possible to make a claim for asbestos disease compensation in all cases, with the exception being pleural plaques (in England & Wales). This is because of a House of Lords decision in 2007 which brought the right to claim for pleural plaques compensation, to an end. It is still possible to claim for pleural plaques in Scotland, where the law is different to the rest [...]