Asbestos can affect anyone who encounters it: In this case, it's apparently the cause of a 45-year-old United Kingdom mother's terminal lung cancer.
The patient is Penny Garner, a mother of three, as this article in the Manchester Evening News notes. Garner never worked with asbestos instead she claims that her exposure came as a child playing in her schoolyard during the 1970s. That was when the baths, which contained asbestos, next to her school were demolished.
Garner could never have imagined that the long ago demolition could cause such suffering. But when she was diagnosed with lung cancer after a series of tests, asbestos was implicated as the cause. It is terrifying that I could catch a terminal disease from playing in the yard at school and now all my friends from that time are worried too, says Garner. My mother is terrified for my brother who is a couple of years older than me.
According to Garner's solicitor, tragic cases like hers are on the rise. This case is unusual because Penny is so young and has not worked with asbestos, but we are seeing more cases like this over the last few years, he notes. It was Garner's asbestos solicitor who discovered the potential link between the demolition of the asbestos-containing baths and her cancer.
After two years of treatment, Garner doesn't know how long she will survive. She hopes to secure funding for her three children, one of whom has special needs and will never live independently. Garner's solicitor has sued the building firm that demolished the baths.
The building firm denies Garner's claim.
If you have been diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation. To learn more about your legal options, please contact Sokolove Law for a free case evaluation.
