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Driver's family blames his death on asbestos delivery
Page 18
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A judge has reserved his decision in the case of a driver whose family
blames his death on exposure to asbestos dust. David Harris reports.
THE FAMILY OF A truck driver whose agonising death is being blamed on exposure to asbestos more than 30 years ago face an anxious wait for the outcome of their six-figure High Court claim for compensation. Rowland Maggs. of Coalpit Heath,n ear Bristol,died aged 69 in October 2005 of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, known for its slowness to develop, its incurability and the agony suffered by its victims. His family claim the disease was caused by exposure to asbestos while Maggs was making a delivery for Bristol-based haulier AJ Anstey, for whom he worked between 1966 and 1972.
But Charles Feeny, appearing for the firm, suggested the delivery never took place, saying Maggs' exposure might have occurred at another time during his career.
If you are racking your memory to remember something that happened a longtime ago,particularly if you worked as a lorry driver for more than 40 years, there is a danger that one thing will merge into another," he told the court.
Last week, following a two-day hearing at the High Court in London, Mr Justice Roderick Evans reserved his decision.
Earlier in the case,the judge was shown video evidence from Maggs, recorded shortly before he died, i n which he described driving a truck loaded with asbestos dust to a factory in Tot pits Lane, Watford.
Maggs recalled this delivery as having taken place over an August Bank Holiday weekend, but Feeny produced work diaries from that time which he said proved that Maggs could not have made such a delivery over any weekend in the early 1970s.