EMI sued over asbestos death
Bereaved son believes father was exposed at music firm’s headquarters
A GRIEVING son who blames his dad’s death on asbestos exposure while he was working for Hayes-based music industry giants EMI has launched a High Court bid for more than £150,000 in damages.
Paul Griffin claims his father, John, breathed in the killer substance while working in EMI’s research and development department.
The asbestos is said to have wrecked the latter years of John’s life before he died in November 2013, aged 83.
He had been suffering for months from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs notorious for being incurable and the agony suffered by its victims.
Left to grieve were his widow, Freda, and his son is now suing EMI Ltd, of Kensington High Street, as executor of his estate.
A document issued in London by the family’s barrister, Simon Kilvington, claims that John was never warned about the asbestos.
He worked for EMI, or its corporate predecessors, between 1962 and 1963 and 1965 and 1966 and was “constantly exposed” dangers of to asbestos without any respiratory protection.
He was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2013 and suffered “intense pain”, fatigue and breathlessness before he died.
The writ claims that the disease not only robbed Mr Griffin of his health but shortened his life by four years.
Paul, who lives in Godalming, who is suing on behalf of his mother and his father’s estate, says the claim is worth “in excess of £150,000”.
EMI’s defence to the claim was not available from the court and the contents of the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.
Last month, a retired security guard from Hillingdon, who worked at sites across west London, appealed for help from former colleagues as he demanded answers about how he was exposed to asbestos that left him with terminal lung cancer.