Children of a devoted wife who got a deadly cancer from washing her husband’s work cloths have been awarded compensation for the tragedy.
Mother-of-three Joan Davies regularly washed her husband David’s overalls after his long days working in power stations between the 50s and 80s.
But these dusty garments were covered in deadly asbestos which both David, and by doing the laundry, Joan were breathing in a fact that would eventually kill them.
Their children recalled their father coming home covered in dust from drilling into deadly asbestos at the power station.
Then their mother would shake out of his overalls before washing them in the garage – not realising she was also breathing in the cancerous dust.
Mother-of-three Joan Davies regularly washed her husband David’s overalls after his long days working in power stations between the 50s and 80sc, not realising she was breathing in cancerous dust
David died aged 89 from mesothelioma in 2012, a cancer of the lining of the lung linked to asbestos exposure- with Joan herself dying 10 years later at 89, with the same condition
David died aged 89 from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung linked to asbestos exposure- with Joan herself dying 10 years later at 89, with the same condition.
Their son Jeff Davies, 63, took legal action to investigate how their mum was exposed to the deadly material and has now been awarded compensation.
He said: ‘It’s been a long and difficult road but our family has finally secured the truth about our mum’s asbestos exposure.’
‘While it can’t bring her back, I know establishing what happened would’ve meant a lot to both of them.
‘I suppose everyone says it, but mum and dad really were amazing people. They both had active and productive lives. They worked so hard to make a great life for themselves and the family and didn’t deserve this terrible cancer.’
David and Joan spent as much time as they could with their eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
David worked in a power station in Cardiff before the pair moved to Pembroke to another similar role.
Jeff said: ‘They were so fit and active, it’s hard to believe anything could have stopped them the way mesothelioma did.
‘They were very active members of their community and they built their own home when they first moved to Pembrokeshire.
David unknowingly brought the cancer causing asbestos fibres home on his work clothes
‘This cancer has been devastating for our family and if some good can come out of this story, that would mean a lot.
‘Asbestos cancer can strike anyone, even years down the line and my family and I want to warn others of the danger still posed by this material.”
Legal firm Irwin Mitchell secured an undisclosed settlement in connection with Joan’s mesothelioma diagnosis and death.
David worked for the former Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in Gabalfa between 1955 and 1969 and then at Pembroke Power Station between 1969 and 1982.
It was admitted that exposure to asbestos from Pembroke Power Station occurred as a result of their negligence and that this went on to cause Joan’s mesothelioma.
David told his sons he removed asbestos lagging from pipework, either by drilling or cutting into it, so that temperature sensors could be attached to the surfaces for testing.
In 1969, the family moved to Monkton in Pembrokeshire, as David was one of the CEGB team assigned to Pembroke Power Station which was still under construction.
Joan and David met in 1948 and married in 1955. The couple had three sons together, Greg, Chris and Jeff.
Joan and David’s son Jeff said the pair loved foreign travel, visiting their other son Chris in Australia many times and also enjoyed regular skiing holidays
Joan had always enjoyed good health until she began to feel unwell in May 2022 with pains in her back and chest. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the end of June 2022 and died the following month.
David himself died of mesothelioma in May 2012.
Joan and David loved foreign travel, visiting their son Chris in Australia many times and also enjoyed regular skiing holidays. David was a keen golfer and had been Chairman and Captain of the South Pembs Golf Club.
Ahead of this year’s Action Mesothelioma Day on 5 July, Jeff has joined the legal team to warn of the ongoing danger posed by asbestos and pay tribute to his wonderful mum, who was also a grandmother and great grandmother.
Alexandra Lausen, the specialist asbestos-related disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Jeff said: ‘To lose one parent to asbestos cancer is bad enough, but to watch David and then Joan suffer from mesothelioma and lose their lives as a result is unimaginable.
‘Understandably, it left the family devastated and searching for answers.
‘Nothing can bring Joan and David back, but we’re pleased to have secured a settlement for the family and hopefully this has given them some answers and closure following such a terrible experience.
‘Jeff has shown enormous courage in sharing his family’s story and hopes that by doing so he can warn others of the dangers of asbestos and encourage women in his mum’s situation to seek the help and support they deserve.’
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops in the lining that covers the surface of some of the body’s organs – mainly the lining of the lungs. It is usually linked to asbestos exposure. Pictured, asbestos chrysotile fibers
Asbestos was used extensively in construction as insulation in the UK between the 50s and 90s and used to rebuild many parts of the post-war Britain.
Despite a number of documented cases the dangers asbestos posed to human health wasn’t widely recognised until the 60s onwards but, even then, it was still only banned in the UK in its entirety in 1999.
Asbestos is made up of tiny fibres and when disturbed these fibres can make their way into your lungs.
These can irritate the lining of the lung, medically called the pleura, and lead to mutations which later become the cancer called mesothelioma.
While those who disturb asbestos directly are most obviously at risk charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) there is some evidence families of these people are also at risk due to fibres being taken home on their clothes, as occurred in Joan’s case.
Mesothelioma linked to asbestos typically strikes decades after exposure, between 20 to 60 years according to some estimates with this risk thought to be lifelong.
CRUK figures suggest there are about 2,700 new cases of mesothelioma each year in the UK.
It also causes 2,400 deaths annually and is incredibly deadly — just 2 per cent of people with the cancer are expected to survive for 10 years beyond their diagnosis.
The average life expectancy for someone diagnosed with mesothelioma is between four and 18 months.
While mesothelioma, like any type of cancer, can occur naturally approximately 94 per cent of cases are believed to be linked to asbestos exposure.
CRUK advises people diagnosed with mesothelioma to talk to a solicitor as soon as possible to discuss the possibility of compensation.
While deaths from mesothelioma have continued due to its ability to emerge years after exposure experts predict deaths will fall thanks to the 1999 ban.
Mesothelioma rates have fallen 7 per cent over the last decade, after rising 57 per cent since the 1990s.
They are predicted to fall another 27 per cent in the coming decades.
Mesothelioma is most commonly diagnosed among people over the age of 75 with the cancer’s emergence marked by symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, a high temperature and sweating at night, a persistent cough, loss of appetite and clubbed (swollen) fingertips.
Though asbestos use was banned in 1999 it can still be found in many buildings in the UK, including homes, schools and hospitals, built before 2000.
While experts say undisturbed or undamaged asbestos carries little health risk there have been campaigns for a Government led effort to remove it from buildings.
