Mr D, Boiler Maker

Posted: 10th Apr 17 11:33 AM

Mr D was diagnosed with asbestos pleural thickening in December 2010. He had been exposed to asbestos at British Rail at their site on Stafford Road in Wolverhampton (the western region) in the 1960s. He worked as an apprentice boiler maker repairing and refurbishing boilers on the steam trains. The boilers were different sizes weighing between 8 and 30 tonnes. All of the boilers, from the fire box to the smoke box were lagged with asbestos.

This was the age of steam trains and there was about 40 boiler makers working in the erecting unit, work was that plentiful. The work required asbestos lagging to be removed and Mr D breathed in the asbestos dust. Sacks of asbestos were used by the laggers, and mixed with water into a paste and very large amounts of asbestos dust were made airborne.

Mr D elected for a provisional damages settlement and a settlement was achieved in 2012 in the sum of £35,000.