This Tragic Story Has Happened in North Carolina Homes to Spouses of Workers Exposed to Asbestos at NC Job Sites and Work Places
This article from the Derby Telegraph, “Wife killed by asbestos on husband’s clothes”, reports the death of a woman, Jill Bolstridge, at age 56 due to second-hand asbestos exposure from her husband’s clothing.
James Bolstridge, who worked at Derby engineering firm S Robinson and Sons, wore his overalls to work everyday. At work, James swept up in the asbestos yard and moved asbestos sheeting. When he was promoted, he worked indoors on a press, but still had asbestos dust blow through and settle on his work bench.
Each week, for ten years, Jill would shake off dirt from these overalls before she put them in the washing machine.
Jill had been in good health until she starting becoming out of breath and given an inhaler in May 2011. Doctors then diagnosed Jill with an asbestos-related cancer, malignant mesothelioma of the pleura, which affects the lining of the lungs. She underwent major surgery after her diagnosis of her asbestos-mesothelioma. Despite the surgery, Jill died in October 2011.
After the post-mortem examination the consultant pathologist, Dr. Andrew Hitchcock of the Royal Derby Hospital, revealed “Mrs. Bolstridge’s right lung was incased in scar tissue and there was a pleural-based tumor “in keeping with malignant mesothelioma.'” Dr. Hitcock also believed that the cause of Jill’s death was asbestos-related.
Even though the events in this article did not take place in North Carolina, second-hand asbestos exposure and subsequent tragedies, such as Jill’s asbestos-related death, can happen anywhere.
Often times it can be determined how the asbestos exposure in the household happened and, in turn, an asbestos lawsuit for legal compensation can be filed on behalf of the mesothelioma victim or her surviving family.