Asbestos victim was ‘negligently exposed’

● Judges rules on woman exposed when she washed her husband’s work clothes

A judge has ruled that a woman who died from cancer was “negligently exposed” to asbestos when she washed her husband’s dirty work clothes more than 40 years ago.

In the first case of its kind in Scots law, Lady Carmichael concluded that Adrienne Sweeney was exposed to the substance when she laundered her husband William’s clothes in the 1960s.

Mr Sweeney, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, spent the decade working as a fitter at a boiler making factor in nearby Renfrew.

After coming home from work, Mr Sweeney, who died in 2008, would “cuddle” Mrs Sweeney whilst wearing overalls which were covered in dust and dirt.

The non-smoker would then wash his clothes. It was whilst she did this household chore that Mrs Sweeney was exposed to asbestos.

Yesterday, Lady Carmichael ruled this exposure “materially increased” the risk of Mrs Sweeney contracting mesothelioma – the illness which claimed her life in 2015.

In a written judgment, the judge ruled that Mr Sweeney’s former employers – Babcock International – should pay his and his wife’s surviving relatives damages, which were undisclosed.

Lady Carmichael wrote: “This is, so far, as I can tell, the first case in this jurisdiction in which a proof has taken place dealing with secondary exposure, that is, exposure to someone in the home of an an employee, alleged to have caused mesothelioma in a secondary victim.

“I am satisfied that the defenders failed to reduce the risk to the deceased. There was no safe known level of exposure.

“For the reasons set out, I am satisfied that the defenders negligently exposed the deceased to asbestos and materially increased the risk that she would develop mesothelioma.”

The case was heard before the court last year.

Mrs Sweeney’s children Kay Gibson,54, of Paisley, Jan Sweeney,52, of Moscow, Ayrshire, and William Sweeney, 50, of Beith, also Ayrshire, originally sued Babcock for £50,000 as individuals.

Her eldest child Kay, also sought £200,000 as the executrix of her estate with lesser sums sought by other family members.

Prior to dying aged 75, Mrs Sweeney gave a statement to a legal firm’s representative detailing her employment history and that of her late husband William.

The firm’s employee Joe Mccluskey said Mrs Sweeney told him: “She said she knew there was asbestos dust on his overalls that she washed.”

Mr Mccluskey,43, said she had met Mrs Sweeney at her home in June 2015 to take notes for a statement. He said: “She was emotional, understandably. She was very lucid and able to hold a conversation without any difficulty.”

She explained her late husband, who died in 2008 aged 71, came home with asbestos dust on his overalls.

Lady Carmichael wrote that lawyers acting for Mrs Sweeney’s family argued that Mr Sweeney’s employers should have done more to prevent his wife being exposed.