Granddaughter wins payout over asbestos fibres
MICHELLE Campbell and her granddad were always fond of each other.
She loved sitting on his knee and enjoying a chat when he popped in to visit on his way home from a hard day's work.
But no-one knew that every time Michelle wrapped her arms around Charles Frost, she was breathing in deadly dust that would eventually kill her.
Mr Frost worked on ships at Portsmouth dockyard from the end of the Second World War until his retirement in 1974, and there was often asbestos around while he was working.
Tragically, doctors now believe Michelle breathed in fibres from his work clothes as a child that led to her being diagnosed with killer cancer mesothelioma.
And Mrs Campbell, 45, has now won a landmark legal battle against the Ministry of Defence, which agreed to pay 145,000 compensation.
It is believed to be the first time a grandchild has successfully sued for damages over an asbestos-related disease.
Mrs Campbell said: 'I was very close to my grandfather. He used to call in to our house after work nearly every night when we were little. He always wore the trousers, jacket and shirt he wore to work. I would sit on his lap and give him a cuddle.
'Doctors think there must have been asbestos on his clothes that was passed on to me.
'My granddad had bad health for years. We were told it was bronchitis and my mum was told he had something wrong with his lungs, but we never knew what it was.
'I used to love playing football and going out for walks with him. He used to take us to Fratton Park and we would go away for weekends. I really looked forward to his visits.'
Mr Frost died from pneumonia in 1992, aged 81.
His granddaughter, from Elm Grove, Southsea, launched her compensation claim after being diagnosed with the cancer in January. She claimed the MoD had been negligent and in breach of statutory duty. The MoD agreed to settle out of court after a writ was issued in the High Court in September.
But despite the life-changing sum of money she is to receive, Mrs Campbell still knows her time is short.
She has undergone operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy but stopped treatment in May because it was not making enough of a difference. The cancer has since spread to her breast bone and ribs.
clare.semke@thenews.co.uk
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