Ms Glenda Eaton, who lived in Porchester, Hampshire, passed away on 24 September 2020 after a diagnosis with mesothelioma.
It is thought that Glenda may have been exposed to asbestos during her working career. Glenda’s brother, Nigel Eaton, has now launched an appeal to try and trace any of her former colleagues in the hope they can provide further information about the work she undertook.
It is believed that Glenda was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres during her employment between 1959 and 1990 when she was employed in the accounts department at Fireproof Tanks Limited based at Airport Service Road Portsmouth. The company has a long standing history in the area having started up in 1939. It subsequently became known as FPT Industries and ultimately became part of Westland Helicopters. In 1990 it was purchased by GKN and was renamed GKN Aerospace
Although Glenda worked in the accounts department her various roles over the years involved her making trips to shop floor on a daily basis. Glenda gave evidence that she was exposed to asbestos from the activities that were being carried out by the workers on the shop floor whose tasks, amongst others, involved the use of asbestos based products.
We are therefore appealing for anyone who worked, ideally on the shop floor, at Fireproof Tanks Limited/FPT Industries/Westland Helicopters/GKN Aerospace between 1960 and 1990, to provide us with information concerning the working practices and conditions there.
Lynn Yeates, Partner in the Asbestos team commented:
“We know that Ms Eaton’s illness was asbestos related and she was able to tell us that she’d come into contact with asbestos dust that was being created by the shop floor workers who used asbestos based products during the course of their work, but we’re just not sure exactly how this exposure came about. If you worked at either of the companies Ms Eaton worked at, any information you can provide could therefore be really helpful for Ms Eaton’s family in obtaining answers as to what happened to her at work all those years ago.”
Armed with the experience and specialist knowledge that is required for this complex area of law, Hugh James has helped thousands of people who have been either injured or developed an illness as a result of their work. The team also has significant experience in working on industrial disease group actions, where more than one person has been affected by contamination in the workplace.