Malignant mesothelioma is diagnosed in roughly 3,000 Americans each year, but the United States is not the only country whose citizens have been affected by the rare asbestos-related disease. Many countries face even greater impact, with the United Kingdom having one of the highest per capita incidence rates in the world. Recently, an electrician and vintage train engineer who worked on the famous Orient Express train was diagnosed with the rare disease. He is seeking compensation of over half a million dollars from his former employer.
Vintage Train Engineer Blames Mesothelioma on Work Restoring Train Cars in the 1980s
Mesothelioma victim Malcolm Gelsthorpe filed a High Court claim against his final employer, St. Hoggs Property Investments, pointing to his work at the Steamtown Railway Museum in Carnforth, Lancashire in the UK for his illness. During the 1980s, he had been assigned to restore 1920s carriages from the luxury sleeper train that famously ran from Europe to Istanbul.
According to testimony heard by the court, Mr. Gelsthorpe was employed at the railway restoration company between 1979 and 2023, and blames his mesothelioma on asbestos that was originally sprayed onto the inside shells of most of the carriages, as well as on asbestos boards that the train cars’ heaters were mounted on. He also recalled asbestos dust and debris littering the cars’ electrical cupboards.
No Warning of Mesothelioma Risk Provided
Though the risk of mesothelioma posed by asbestos had been known to Mr. Gelsthorpe’s employer during the time he worked at the museum, he was not instructed or advised to wear respiratory protective equipment. He recalled his work overalls and those of his fellow workers being covered with asbestos dust, and according to his solicitor, testified of asbestos being “underneath the seats, around the heaters, in the electrical cupboards, within the metalwork and, more worryingly, the whole metal carcass of the train had been sprayed with blue asbestos insulation before it had been furnished.”
Mr. Gleshorpe’s former employer argued that it should not be held responsible for his mesothelioma because it had commissioned specialist asbestos removal teams, and claimed that it had provided personal protective equipment, but the judge hearing the case ruled against the company.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, it is possible to get justice. For more information, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
