Asbestos: East Sussex family want answers after mum's death

Mary Griffiths, from St Leonards, died just months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by asbestos inhalation.

After the 75-year-old's diagnosis, she tried to claim damages - but died before her case was heard.

Now her children Lucy and Justin are taking on the fight, claiming asbestos manufacturer Cape PLC "put profit before lives". 

Mary died aged 75 having never gotten answers

Lucy said: “In the early part of the 1970s, Mum and Dad moved from London to begin a care home for the elderly in St Leonards,” said Lucy.

“As part of safety measures to reduce fire risk during a time of building alterations to change the building from residential to commercial use, they were advised by the authorities that they needed to install fire retardant boards made from asbestos inside the building.

“Mum and Dad did this work themselves spending many hours cutting and fixing the dusty boards inside the home. Mum was exposed to the dust when carrying out the work alongside my dad.”

Lucy said she had found records in her father’s diary of conversations he had with building inspectors.

She claims the inspectors had advised two types of asbestos boards as being suitable.

One was manufactured by Cape PLC, and the other by another provider, now essentially bankrupt.

However, it was not known which was used making a legal case difficult.

Following Mary's death in May 2019, Lucy removed a piece of the original boarding from her mother’s property.

A photo shows that it was stamped with the name Asbestolux. The family's legal team said this proves it was manufactured by Cape PLC.

Ian Bailey, from Irwin Mitchell, said: “Claims in relation to asbestos diseases have evolved in England and Wales so that the claim is usually brought against the employer or an occupier of premises.

“Here, we were arguing that Cape, as the manufacturer of the product, should be liable which is much more unusual and more complex.”

The boarding from Mary's property, which her daughter says shows Cape PLC is responsible

Asbestos was used in building works from the mid-1950s until the 1990s - but was banned in 1999.

Its fibres can be expelled into the air and are harmful when inhaled. It kills about 5,000 people a year.

Mesothelioma, according to the Health and Safety Executive, is a cancer caused almost exclusively by inhalation of asbestos fibres.

Cape PLC has been contacted for comment.