Son of Can Factory Worker Wins Asbestos Suit

January 12, 2007 - The son of a woman who worked in a rural Wales can factory was awarded £60,000 in damages after it was determined that the mother died due to exposure to asbestos at the plant.

According to an article in the Western Mail, a judge ruled that Metal Box Ltd and Crown Cork and Seal Ltd, who both ran the Neath Metal Works can factory from time to time, were in breach of their duties to Mrs. Jones under the Factories Act.

Beryl Jones, mother of Keith Jones – who represented himself in the action – worked at the factory from 1954 to 1968 as both a packer and cleaner.  Mrs. Jones was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in August 2001 and died before the close of the year.

The judge determined that the transfer belts used in the factory contained chrysotile asbestos and that the movement of the belts caused dangerous asbestos fibers to be released into the air.  Several former factory workers testified during the hearings.

In a statement released to the media, Judge Hickinbottom said: "I find that after October 1965 the defendants were in breach of duty to Mrs. Jones, both under common law and under Section 63 of the Factories Act 1961, and that those breaches increased the risk of Mrs. Jones contracting the mesothelioma which, in 2001, she did contract. I therefore find them liable in this claim."