July 26th, 2005

A man from Washington in the UK is preparing to fight it out with members of parliament after his father died from mesothelioma, which he contracted while working at a British plant as a plumber and a maintenance controller. Colin Laidler, aged 47, states that his father, Ronald was on a waiting list for compensation after being diagnosed with the deadly asbestos-related cancer in 2000.

Although Ronald Laidler came to an agreement about the settlement just a short while after being diagnosed, the company Turner and Newall were taken over by Federal Mogul and everything came to a standstill. Mr. Laidler and one hundred others have since died while waiting years for their compensation to be paid out, and Colin Laidler now intends to fight for justice on his father’s behalf.

Colin stated: "We were devastated by the death of my father and the way it occurred. The claim was settled when my father was still alive. He hoped the payout would be made during his lifetime so would at least have the knowledge my mother was financially looked after. This has obviously doubled the grief we have suffered."

His solicitor added: "Each of us will give presentations explaining our perspectives on what we have gone through and how we feel about it. It is to inform the MPs so they can apply some pressure. It is really another way to get Turner and Newall back on to the political radar. If we get the message through then they can take it back to their constituencies and hopefully we will start to see some progress."