Son of Former Tile Maker Says Asbestos Killed Father
The son of a British man who worked for decades as a tile maker and died of malignant mesothelioma is launching a battle for compensation for his father’s suffering and death.
According to an article in Blyth and Wansbeck Today, Stewart Grimes – the son of John Grimes - is claiming damages from his father’s former employer, Armstrong World Industries, whom he blames for his death. He is suing for up to £100,000.
The elder Grimes was employed by the tile manufacturing giant from 1959 to 1964 and 1967 to 1987, the article states. His job involved placing pins in a frame or mould to create a patterned finish on the tiles, which contained asbestos.
The asbestos came in polythene bags, explained the younger Grimes, and bags of asbestos were added to a mixture of compounds used to make the tiles. The bags were then tipped into the open mouth of a mixing machine which generated large amounts of asbestos dust and debris spread throughout the factory, the claim states.
Stewart Grimes added that the bags were difficult to handle and often split as they were loaded, and much of the factory was constantly coated with asbestos dust, which settled onto all surfaces and onto the overalls of the employees, the writ claims.
Stewart Grimes says he plans to rely on an admission by the company’s insurers last October. He says they admitted that his father would indeed have been exposed to asbestos during his work at the tile factory.
John Grimes was diagnosed with mesothelioma in July 2005. He died a week later.
