CHARITY DAY
Saturday 26th September 2009
Thank you to everyone who supported our third charity day raising funds & awareness of Mesothelioma & Asbestos diseases. You raised a over £2000.00, a great achievement.
Special thanks to Bernie for the excellent DVD and auction, and everyone who helped, we really appreciated your support and time.
Donations can also be paid into the charity account:
Nationwide Building Society
Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund
Sort code 07-00-93 Account 33333334
Our Account No/ Ref 0307-703-999-271
Supporting:
Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund
The British Lung Foundation
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Where your money goes
Dr Albiruni Ryan Abdul Razak, Specialist Registrar in Medical Oncology
Scientific Title: Evaluation of the role of folate receptor alpha and methylthioadenosine phosphorylase in determining the response of malignant pleural mesothelioma to treatment with pemetrexed-containing chemotherapy.
Amount awarded: £87,395
Duration: 24 months
The study at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research will develop tests of mesothelioma samples to find out which patients will benefit from the drug pemetrexed (Alimta) in combination with a platinum drug.. The research will help to understand why only some people with mesothelioma respond to Alimta. This will help establish at the time of diagnosis whether a patient is likely to respond or whether they should be offered an alternative treatment.
The data collected will help to identify what makes mesothelioma resistant to treatment and therefore direct new research into new drugs to treat the disease. The research will be supervised by the Centre’s Director, Professor Hilary Calvert who led the team that develop Alimta If successful it will make the treatment more cost effective, one of the issues concerning NICE decision while giving those suffering from the illness a much better quality of life for longer.
Family Wins High Court Judgement
The family of Bob Tolley who passed away from Mesothelioma in September 2006 were successfully awarded compensation against Mr Tolleys previous employer, Humphreys & Glasgow Ltd. A judgement was issued in the High Court on Thursday 12th June, for asbestos exposure which led to mesothelioma.
This turned out to be double edged sword for the family, who although awarded compensation may not receive any of it due to the Employment Liability trigger issue being heard in the high court at the moment with six test cases going before Mr Justice Burton. The case hinges on the wording of Employers Liability Policies, insurers are arguing that the policies sold to employers insure against liability for workers becoming ill or injured due to their work, are triggered by the development of the disease rather than the exposure to asbestos. At what point does the disease begin to "exist", at the time of exposure or when it begins to develop or when symptoms actually appear?.
Often the time lapses between exposure to the deadly dust and the development of Mesothelioma can be 40 years or more, so many employers have ceased trading or gone into liquidation.
Bob's wife Betty who attended the court with her solicitor Carolann Hepworth of John Pickering & Partners, said after the judgement was awarded: "I am relieved that someone had finally taken responsibility for what happened to my husband, it has never been about the money for me or my family, how do you put a price on someone's life.
Bob was always very fit and healthy and only just 67 when he died, he did not deserve this disease and I find it very unfair he was exposed to asbestos whilst just going about his normal working life due to someone else's negligence. Ignorance is no defence for putting employees in any kind of danger at work".
The family continue to raise funds for Mesothelioma research. A charity event is being organised on Saturday 20th September comprising of a golf tournament in the day and an evening auction raffle buffet and disco at Eastbourne United football club Channelview road. Last years event raised £1403.00 for research, this year the family hope to raise even more. money. There is also a website www.bobtolleyfund.co.uk set up in memory of Bob, in conjunction with Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund & The British Lung Foundation.
If you need advice about an asbestos related illness contact any of the asbestos support groups, or John Pickering & Partners for information about making a claim for compensation.
FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
www.mesotheliomaadvice.co.uk
Carol Ann Hepworth
Old Exchange Buildings
St Ann's Passage
29/31 King Street
Manchester, M2 6BE
Email: ch@johnpickering.co.uk
Tele: (0161) 834 1251
Fax: 0161 834 1505
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Cancer Epidemic set to Claim 200,000 Lives
Professor Julian Peto, Cancer Research UK chairman of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said around 90,000 people would die from mesothelioma and a further 90,000 from asbestos-related lung cancer.
Professor Peto said those exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 70s were now suffering an epidemic of mesothelioma which will peak in less than 10 years.He estimated that 90,000 people will die from this particular form of cancer and revealed that 30,000 had already done so.
"Mesothelioma is on a completely different scale from any other industrial cancer disease in the world," he said."The highest risk group of all is carpenters. One in 10 of all carpenters in Britain of that generation could be affected. "Mesothelioma has already killed twice as many people as cervical cancer. Instead of young women, those affected are elderly working class men."
Mesothelioma, which is a relatively unknown form of cancer, is hard to diagnose and there is no cure - only palliative treatment Prof Peto said there was significant evidence that women and children who lived with men exposed to asbestos in the 1960s had a chance of contracting the disease.
He said the dangers of exposure to asbestos had been known since the 1930s: "Historically, it is incomprehensible that this has happened. That Britain should have made this extraordinary industrial error seems hard to understand."
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Insurers fail in attempt to deny compensation to asbestos cancer sufferers
Insurance companies had tried to use a legal loophole to defeat mesothelioma claims and save themselves millions of pounds. A shocked courtroom heard a director of MMI tell the judge that if they won this case they would save themselves £70 to £90 million out of money set aside to compensate asbestos victims. This is a small fraction of the overall savings that would be made by other insurers– the savings would have potentially been billions.
Although this case only dealt with workers who developed mesothelioma, some insurance companies planned to use the same arguments to avoid paying compensation to any victim of asbestos disease. This would lead to thousands of asbestos victims receiving nothing. For over 50 years insurers on risk at the time that employees were exposed to deadly asbestos dust paid compensation to those who later developed asbestos disease. This changed in 2006 when insurers refused to pay any compensation, arguing that the policy did not cover the claims, as there was no injury until about 10 years before symptoms appeared. By this time many employers would no longer exist or could be insolvent, leaving asbestos sufferers without anyone to claim against.
Betty Tolley’s, husband Bob,died in September 2006, he worked for Humphrey’s & Glasgow Ltd. During his work he was exposed to asbestos, which killed him at the age of 67. In June 2008 at the High Court, a judge told Humphreys & Glasgow’s to pay compensation but they had gone out of business and their insurers, Excess refused to pay. Betty is now owed £200,000.00. For Betty this decision is the end of a long and painful battle: “You cannot put a value on anyone’s life, but to watch my husband of 48 years suffer such a painful death was something I will never get over. This decision will help people like me and my family whose loved ones have been exposed to asbestos through their employers neglect and have paid the ultimate price with their lives. No amount of money will ever compensate the loss of my husband Bob, I miss him terribly, he deserved more time with me, his children and grandchildren, that choice was sadly taken away from him due to no fault of his own. Bob’s daughter Christine Dennis added “ It is a great relief for me and my family that Justice Burton has handed down this judgement in favour of asbestos victims and their families. The fact that they would seek to deny sufferers and their families compensation when for years they have collected premiums is unbelievable. Workers have the right to be covered by their employers for hazards which could potentially cause them harm.
Carolann Hepworth, specialist solicitor at John Pickering and Partners LLP said: “I am delighted at the result for the claimants in this case. This is a ground-breaking decision in which John Pickering and Partners LLP have secured a successful outcome for our clients and for thousands of other mesothelioma victims.
This is a landmark ruling from the Court that prevents the insurance industry from withholding millions of pounds meant for claimants. The Judge has forbidden insurers from denying their responsibilities to their policyholders who paid premiums in good faith expecting their employees to be protected.
This case not only cost the taxpayer millions of pounds but caused untold anguish and suffering for many mesothelioma victims and their families.”
