A Mansfield contractor has been fined after contaminating the home of a pensioner with dangerous asbestos dust. Abbott and Mason Building and Joinery Contractors were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) after work was carried out on the property in West Bridgeford, Nottingham in February 2010.

Abbott and Mason of Carter Lane, Mansfield were carrying out work in 96 year old Ann Jenkins’ bathroom which involved removing asbestos insulation board from behind the bath.

The contractors were aware that the material they were working with contained harmful asbestos fibres. In spite of this in the course of the work dangerous particles were released into the air within the flat in which the 96 year old pensioner lived alone.

The hazardous work was halted when the warden of the sheltered accommodation complex, who had called round to see Mrs Jenkins, noticed what was happening and stopped the work immediately.

Following the incident Mrs Jenkins was taken by her family to alternative accommodation and was later re-housed completely.

The asbestos dust contaminated many of Mrs Jenkins’ belongings. The possessions, which included clothing, furniture and other sentimental items, had to be destroyed because of the potential dangers they posed to Mrs Jenkins and others.

Despite the fact that both partners at the Mansfield based firm had completed asbestos management training the contractors attempted to clean up the hazardous waste with a ‘Henry’ vacuum cleaner.  

The health and safety of other members of the public was also put at risk when the contractors left waste materials containing asbestos fibres outside Mrs Jenkins’ flat at the complex on Musters Lane, West Bridgeford.

In addition to a £20,000 fine Abbott and Mason has been ordered to pay legal costs amounting to almost £6,000 and a £15 victim surcharge. In a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates Court they pleaded guilty to breaching 5 regulations relating to the control of asbestos.

HSE Inspector, Frances Bailey said: “This Company showed a wilful disregard for the health and safety of its employees and the public. Abbott and Mason knew the panels contained asbestos and should have dealt with it safely.............The distress caused to her [Mrs Jenkins] and the risks to the health of the public and the company’s employees could have been easily avoided had the company taken sensible steps to ensure the right procedures were followed and the spread of potentially dangerous material was prevented.”

Mrs Jenkins’ daughter, Mary Chivers, provided a witness impact statement for the hearing stating: “My family are appalled that this incident had such devastating consequences for my mother...................She was very shocked and angry and found it difficult to come to terms with her situation. As time went on, she began missing the things she had lost and expressed grief. She was clearly distressed.”

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About John Pickering and Partners LLP

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors

We are a dedicated personal injury law firm who do not do other types of work.  We specialise in claiming damages for asbestos sufferers. We have been handling compensation claims for industrial disease for over 30 years. Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims who suffer from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers. We have an ethical approach and donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers.  We have set up a charitable trust to help to fund medical research into mesothelioma and various organisations that help and support asbestos sufferers and their families.

Find out more about our donations to good causes. We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law. Find out more about us or  our reported cases. We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Find out more about what others have said about us.

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the landmark Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life." Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs. It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015. 

The first Action Mesothelioma Day was launched on 27th February 2006.  Its objectives were to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people who may be exposed to asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

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