A WIDOW has been awarded £160,000 in damages from a negligence claim after her husband of 58 years died from cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
Roy Aston, from Chickerell, died on October 24, 2020 aged 81 after a nine-month battle with mesothelioma, a tumour caused by inhaled asbestos fibres that forms on the lining of the lungs.
Mr Aston was exposed to fatal dust during his 40-year career as a builder and carpenter working on paddle steamers which used to sail off the Dorset coast. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma on Christmas Eve, 2019, at Dorset County Hospital and was given a prognosis of between four and six months.
Mr Aston's widow Patricia, from Weymouth, said: "It was terrible when he got diagnosed but I didn't tell him what his prognosis was. I didn't want him to know what the doctors had said. He had always been so full of life and I didn't want that to stop."
After his diagnosis, Mr and Mrs Aston filed a negligence claim against Mr Aston's former employer W.F. Dickinsons (Dorset) Ltd and Roger Burrage & Co Ltd for damages which included the cost of his care at Weldmar Hospicecare.
In total, the damages awarded by insurers acting for W.F. Dickinsons (Dorset) Ltd and Roger Burrage & Co Ltd was £160,000.
After returning the amount that was given to the family in benefits from the government, giving nearly £15,000 to Weldmar for the cost of Mr Aston's care, and giving a £1,000 donation to support mesothelioma claims charity Hasag, Mrs Aston was left with roughly £125,000.
Mrs Aston, 79, said: "When we talked about making a negligence claim I said I wasn't sure if I could be bothered but Roy said 'you damn well get on with it' and I'm so glad I did.
"When the claim was sorted it felt like a weight had been lifted as the process was so stressful.
"I know it is a lot of money but I would rather have Roy back. We all miss him so much. It was heartbreaking when we lost him."
Mr and Mrs Aston met at Bowleaze Cove when they were just 19 and 16-years-old, respectively, and had three children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Hallie, who met her great-grandfather just once before he passed away when she was a few months old.
Mrs Aston, who worked as a lunchtime supervisor at Beechcroft School for 23 years, said: "It was tough that his last few months was spent during the pandemic which meant we couldn't see our family as much as we wanted but I'm so pleased Roy got to meet Hallie before he died.
"We are also very lucky that we got to visit Roy at the hospice as some people didn't get to do that because of Covid.
"It is such a horrible disease and it was terrible watching him waste away."
Shaheen Mosquera, a specialist mesothelioma solicitor at Fieldfisher in London, the company representing Mr Aston, said that she was very pleased to have settled the case on Mr Aston's behalf.
She said: "It's very important that people affected by exposure to asbestos, even a long time in the past, know that the law supports them and will get them some justice.
"We're also very pleased to be able to reclaim the hospice costs in such claims, particularly since most are charitable organisations. They do so much to help our clients and their families, it's very satisfying to give something back."
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