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Thursday, 7 March, 2002, 15:58 GMT
Pay-out for asbestosis sufferer
Ms Ashdown says others may be at risk from asbestos
A grandmother from Essex has accepted £40,000 in compensation after she contracted a form of asbestosis.
Rita Ashdown threatened to sue Barking and Dagenham Council because she believes she got the disease after living on a housing estate built on the site of a former asbestos factory. The 62-year-old says she wants to warn others they too could have the disease. Barking and Dagenham Council said the settlement was not an "admission of liability".
Ms Ashdown believes that it was while living on the Harts Lane estate that she contracted the disease. However a council spokesman said that apart from Ms Ashdown no one else had made a complaint. He said: "The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is obviously saddened to hear of Mrs Ashdown's health and hopes that the timely conclusion of this case will be of consolation to her." However he said that "in no way should the settlement be viewed as an admission of liability nor was it offered as such". Asbestosis is a serious, long-term lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos dust over a prolonged time. The lung tissue becomes thickened and scarred and reduces the amount of oxygen that is transferred into the blood. There is no effective treatment for the condition. |
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