Dad of two sues oil superpower after exposure to deadly asbestos

Bill Jones. Sufferer of Diffuse Pleural Thickening, sues oil company Shell for exposure to asbestos.

Last Updated on September 23, 2014 by neilhardy

Father of two, Bill Jones aged 67 is suing oil superpower shell after allegedly being exposed to asbestos whilst working on an offshore oil rig in the North Sea. Bill now suffers from Diffuse Pleural Thickening which is cased by the embedding of asbestos in the pleura which triggers an inflammatory response and over time a build of scar tissue.

Symptoms for diffuse pleural thickening do not immediately manifest, in Bill’s case he was on the rig from 1969 to 1971 and the symptoms only began to show in 2009. There is no cure for diffuse pleural thickening, no real treatment and the symptoms get progressively worse. The build up of scar tissue reduces lung functionality causing chest pain and shortness of breath in various degrees of severity, Bill is now prescribed two hours a day with an oxygen pack.

Bill was repeatedly exposed to large quantities of a compound called Flosal (An 85% to 95% asbestos drilling mud additive) and also the fire retardant clothing used on oil rigs contained asbestos that may release fibres when worn out or ripped.

Catherine Higgins from Catherine Higgins Law who is helping Bill Jones in his place said “he was not advised of the danger he was being exposed to, he does not remember being instructed to wear a mask and the only overalls he was provided with were made of cotton.”

It is because of this that Bill has an entirely preventable, quality of life lowering illness and for the reasons thereof Bill is suing Shell.

It is against the law for employers to put workers in situations where they may encounter asbestos or asbestos containing materials throughout general work without sufficient Asbestos Awareness Training. Armco Asbestos provides Asbestos Awareness Training as well as Asbestos removal training and Face fit testing (a fairly recent legal requirement). We also perform surveys for the identification of Asbestos which can be found here.

Published Sep 23, 2014

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