A CANCER sufferer who is terminally ill won a £130,000 damages award yesterday.
Part of the compensation to Thomas Renfrew, who was exposed to asbestos as a shipyard worker, is to recognise the care given to him by his wife Margaret since he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer.
Mr Renfrew, 63, of Ardr
ossan, Ayrshire, sued two companies, Lithgows and Scotts' Shipbuilding, over his exposure to asbestos while working as a painter in Clydeside yards between 1959 and 1973. The firms admitted liability but disputed the level of damages he should receive.
The Court of Session was told that Mr Renfrew began feeling breathless about New Year 2007, and by the summer he had been diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma.
The judge, Lord Woolman, said Mr Renfrew had a stoical nature and gave the impression of coping remarkably well.
"He gave his evidence with a degree of fortitude. In due course, however, it is likely that he will be confined to the house and latterly to bed, requiring total care.
"This final period may require to be spent in hospital or in a hospice. He and his wife live with his father-in-law and his sister-in-law.
"Mr and Mrs Renfrew moved there after her mother died in 2005. Until recently, she worked five days a week," he added.
Lord Woolman said both Mr Renfrew's in-laws required care and supervision, and the family preferred no social work involvement.
An issue in the case was Mr Renfrew's life expectancy had he not developed mesothelioma. The longer he could have been expected to live, the greater the award.
However, apart from the cancer, he also suffered from vascular disease. His lawyers argued he could have lived for another 13 years, while the firms said it would have been about three.
The judge, Lord Woolman, said medical evidence persuaded him ten years was correct. He set the payment at £130,375, of which £16,672 was for care given by Mrs Renfrew.
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.
Malignant cells develop in a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs but it occurs most commonly in the pleura – the outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity. It can also develop in the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity, or the pericardium, a sac that surrounds the heart.
Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain and weight loss. Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, but the disease carries a poor prognosis.
The full article contains 435 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
