THE family of a Whitchurch woman who died after exposure to asbestos in the 1950s say they will fight for justice in her name.
An inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard that Maureen Hutton, 87, died on November 21 last year at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
She had been diagnosed with potential mesothelioma – a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos – in September that year, and her condition deteriorated quickly.
The court heard details read from a statement Mrs Hutton, a retired office typist, had made before her death.
She said that the only time in her life that she could recall having worked or lived near asbestos was in the 1950s when she worked as a shorthand typist in a factory in Cheltenham.
She worked at the Alfred Miles Fire Appliances factory from 1951 until 1953, where asbestos was used to make fire engines.
She said she remembered the factory being very dusty, and that she would always have had her door open onto the factory floor.
A post mortem found that the cause of Mrs Hutton's death was pulmonary embolism – a blockage of the main artery of the lung – and malignant mesothelioma.
Medical reports concluded that the conditions were asbestos related.
Terry Moore, assistant deputy coroner, recorded a verdict of industrial disease.
source: thisisbristol.co.uk
(edited version)
Asbestos Claims
