Asbestos Litigation

The family of a British woman who died of mesothelioma caused by second-hand exposure to asbestos recently received compensation.

The mesothelioma lawyer for the family of Betty Farrow told the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press that the family received a "significant" settlement from St. Michael’s Hospital in Aylsham, where she and her husband worked.

Farrow's husband worked in the hospital's boiler house and when his wife would wash his work clothes, she unwittingly exposed herself to asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral once prized for its resistance to fire.

The family's mesothelioma attorney said that many people are affected by exposure to the carcinogenic material and that cases of second-hand asbestos exposure are becoming more prevalent.

"Now it is more diverse - including tradesmen, such as electricians and carpenters working in buildings with asbestos such as hospitals, schools, factories and oil platforms and also exposing it to their wives and children at home," he said.

In addition to malignant mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis and lung cancer. The World Health Organization estimates that 107,000 people die each year as a result of asbestos-related diseases.