‘Devastating disease’ kills man of 62

7:00am Saturday 18th August 2007

ENGINEER Leslie Garner died from a 30cm wide tumour in his chest brought on by years of contact with asbestos at work, an inquest heard.

Mr Garner, of Hundred Acres Lane, Amersham, died on May 6 this year at the age of 62. He leaves behind his wife Judith.

At an inquest into his death at Amersham Courthouse on Wednesday, Dr Yoon Chia, consultant pathologist at Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, told the coroners court that Mr Garner had died due to a malignant meso- thelioma, a rare form of cancer common in people who have worked with asbestos.

Giving a report on her post mortem findings, she said: "There was no sign of any external abnormality. An internal examination found asbestos in the respiratory system.

"There was a white tumour mass and damage on the right hand side of the pleura (chest) cavity. It had maximum dimensions of at least 30 centimetres in diameter."

She added that the rest of Mr Garner's organs were found to be healthy and that until shortly before he died he had been in very good health for a man in his 60s.

Dr Chia also explained that the latent period for the affects of asbestosis can be very long and "it is well recognised that it could be in excess of 20 years".

Mr Garner came into contact with asbestos at work from the 1960s onwards. In August 1962, at the age of 17, he began a five year engineering apprenticeship with Young, Austin and Young Ltd, staying on with them as a project engineer after finishing his training.

He worked for them until he was made redundant in 1994, when he continued to work as an engineer for other companies.

A section of a lengthy statement written by Mr Garner several weeks before he died and provided to the coroner on his behalf by London-based law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse was read out in court.

His account, written on March 8 this year, detailed the variety of different ways in which he was exposed to asbestos at work, including cutting sheets, spraying steel piping and laying blankets.

Summing up the case, coroner Richard Hulett, said: "This man did not die of a natural cause of death. In this case, Mr Garner was aware of his predicament, an incurable illness that was well established, and he had taken steps to instruct lawyers.

"Back in the 60s and until the 80s, people had very little appreciation of the dangers associated with asbestos. Activities involving particularly the cutting and sawing of asbestos material generated a lot of dust which was breathed in and remained in the lungs for 20 plus years. In this case it was more like nearly 40 years.

"The long term result in some cases is there is this malignant tumour which forms around the lungs. It's a devastating disease."

He recorded the cause of death as an industrial disease, saying Mr Garner died of a malignant mesothelioma as a result of industrial contact with asbestos.

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