At the power station there was a small shed in which the bricklayers would store all of their materials. They shared the shed with a lagger and the lagger's mate who were also employed at the power station. The lagger's mate would frequently mix asbestos lagging powder to form a lagging paste inside the shed . When the asbestos powder was poured into a tank of water, a huge cloud of dust formed inside the shed that would take some time to settle. The shed was also rarely swept and so asbestos dust was continuously present in this shed which Mr Warwick would visit at least once a day. The lagger's mate was often mixing up the lagging paste when Mr Warwick was inside the shed. Mr Warwick was unaware of the dangers of asbestos at this time but found this working atmosphere extremely unpleasant. He asked the lagger's mate not to mix up the powder inside the shed but his requests were ignored.
He was also exposed to asbestos when carrying out his own work because pipes at the back of the boilers in the power station were covered with asbestos lagging that was frequently broken off releasing asbestos dust and fibres into the air around him.
The CEGB took no precautions to protect Mr Warwick from exposure to asbestos dust and fibres. They did not advise him of the potential dangers to his health from this or of precautions that he might have taken to avoid it.
Mr Warwick developed asbestosis as a result of his exposure to asbestos and had been receiving industrial injuries disablement benefit for this since 2003. However, he was not advised that he could claim compensation against his former employers for an asbestos-related condition until July 2014 when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He then instructed Caroline Pinfold to pursue a claim for damages against the CEGB.
Caroline obtained an admission of liability and an interim payment of compensation during his lifetime, but sadly he passed away before his claim could be concluded when his condition deteriorated rapidly. One of his daughters continued the claim on behalf of his estate and it settled a few months later. The settlement included compensation for the care that had been provided by his family as a result of the mesothelioma.
His daughter wrote
" I would like to thank you for fighting my dad's corner and as a family we appreciate everything you did for dad and us, no money will ever bring back my dad but we will be able to do a nice memorial in the cemetery so we have somewhere to go."