Asbestos widow wins damages

A widow whose husband died after exposure to asbestos has won damages, following a favourable court ruling.

According to reports by the Gazette & Herald, British Rail has admitted liability for the death of the man, after his work-related exposure to asbestos lead him to contract mesothelioma, which he fought until November 2006.

"When Mr Shergold was at British Rail the firemen had to take the locomotives out on trial every three weeks to Dauntsey," said Brigitte Chandle, the lawyer for the family.

"Asbestos was on the boilers and at this stage the boilers had just been re-lagged with fresh asbestos," she added.

The deceased was employed by British rail between 1942 and 1986, with a gap of two years between 1944 and 1946.

In addition to mesothelioma, asbestos has been linked with a number of other different conditions, including asbestos-related lung cancer, diffuse pleural thickening and asbestosis.

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