There is an irony in the fact that for several decades in Scotland, hospitals were a place of healing and life-saving for patients but, tragically, a health hazard to the doctors, nurses, maintenance and other hospital workers who made them tick.
If you worked in a hospital in Scotland at any point from the 1940s to 1980s and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, it may be possible for you to claim compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors', Scotland's leading personal injury firm and specialist in asbestos claims for hospital workers, can help you ensure that your rights are enforced under the law. Call 0800 0891 331 to speak with our team today.
A clear and present danger
Even today failures of asbestos management in Scotland's hospitals are not unheard of. The UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) says that we must not be fooled into thinking asbestos is merely a danger of the past.
For so long asbestos was a hidden killer and even though today we know that it is responsible for around 4,500 deaths every year, there are still failures. Yet ignorance and complacency could lead to further avoidable deaths.
Asbestos was popular in hospital construction, chiefly because of its thermal and electrical insulation properties, coupled with its tensile strength. In fact, the substance was so widely used that it is likely to be present in any hospital in Scotland built before 1999. However, this danger is not confined to hospitals; around 1.5 million buildings in the UK still contain the substance.
Although it is true that many hospitals contain crocidolite – also called ‘blue asbestos' – the least dangerous form of the substance, other, more lethal, forms are often present too. For example in insulating board (AIB), lagging, sprayed coatings, and cement products.
A terrible legacy
Mesothelioma is almost always fatal and half of all people die within eight months of diagnosis – although it has a long latency period of several decades, once developed the illness typically reaches a swift but painful conclusion
According to the leading authority on mesothelioma in the United Kingdom, Professor Julian Peto, it is thought that between the 1970s and 2050 – the date at which the nation's asbestos epidemic is expected to end – nearly 100,000 people will have died of the cancer.
This has led to immeasurable pain for many families and communities particularly in industrial and shipbuilding areas such as Glasgow, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. However, hospital workers from all areas of the country may have suffered exposure and there have been confirmed hospital worker asbestos claims stemming from a number of hospitals, including Southern General Hospital, Dykebar Hospital and Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill.
Hospital worker asbestos claims
Thompsons Solicitors in Scotland has helped many asbestos sufferers and their families claim compensation for asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer, whether they have suffered exposure while working in a hospital as doctor, nurse, porter, caterer, carer or maintenance officer.
For sensitive and knowledgeable support from Scotland's most experienced personal injury firm, contact our hospital worker asbestos claims team today on 0800 089 1331.
