Skip to main content
Skip to navigation

Mail To a Friend E-mail this to a friend

Ex-mechanic awarded compensation for asbestos-related condition

Published 05/07/2007

A former mechanic has won compensation of £135,000 after exposure to asbestos led to his contracting Retroperitoneal Fibrosis.(RPF)

Graham Mansfield, 67, was employed as a car mechanic at Speeds Motor Group and Evans Halshaw, during which he worked with brake linings containing asbestos fibres.

Over the course of his twenty year employment with the firms the asbestos caused damage to his lungs and had a detrimental affect on one of his kidneys.

The case had been marked by the presence of an expert on the RPF who stated that the disease can be caused by exposure to asbestos over periods of over five years or more.

It is thought to be the first time that damages have been awarded for a victim of the condition who contracted it through asbestos exposure.

News of the case comes as the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill yesterday received a second reading in the House of Commons.

Should the reforms proposed by the bill be accepted, claims from victims of asbestos-related conditions will be facilitated, while relatives of family members who have contracted the conditions through physical contact will also be in line for compensation.

Related articles