£250,000 legal battle begins over cancer death

A WIDOW whose husband died from asbestos related cancer has launched a legal battle for compensation of up to £250,000,
Robert Reed died aged 74 from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the tissues surrounding lungs, according to a writ issued in London’s High Court.

Now his widow Sheila Reed, of Barford, is claiming damages from Mitchell Construction (Kinnear Moddie Group Ltd), who she blames for his death.
The writ claims he developed the terminal cancer through his work, and died on September 2006, and that this was ten years earlier than he would normally have been expected to die.
It says he was exposed to deadly asbestos dust and fibres when he worked for the company as a civil engineers between 1949 and 1957, and from 1959 to 1972.
It claims that in the course of his work he supervised the construction of tunnels, which were caulked with a compound cord which contained asbestos, and he was exposed to asbestos when he inspected the work of caulkers.
He developed malignant mesothelioma and died when his condition deteriorated, losing around ten years of life, the court will hear.
Mrs Reed accuses her husband’s former employers of negligence and says they failed to provide protective equipment, failed to damp down asbestos, failed to warn him of the dangers to his heath and failed to provide a safe system and place of work.
Mesothelioma is a terminal and progressive cancer, almost invariably linked to exposure to asbestos at work.
Mrs Reed’s is the latest in a series of legal actions brought by cancer victims, or their relatives, from all over the country. She brings her claim under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 and the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.