| Widow launches legal bid
A GRIEVING widow has launched a legal battle for £200,000 compensation after her husband died from an asbestos-related cancer. Leslie Newman died last summer and his widow Hazel is claiming damages from Huntingdonshire District Council, which she blames for his illness and death. Mr Newman was exposed to deadly asbestos dust and fibres when he worked at the council between 1974 and 1977. He was diagnosed with cancer in November 2004 and died from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the tissues surrounding his lungs and abdomen, on June 23 2005. Mrs Newman, of Leys Road, St Neots, brands the council negligent and in a breach of statutory duty by exposing her husband to asbestos. She has brought he claims to London's High Court under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and the Law Reform Act 1934.
Statins Reverse Doxorubicin Resistance in Mesothelioma Cells
NEW YORK JUL 12, 2006 (Reuters Health) - Statins reverse doxorubicin resistance in human malignant mesothelioma cells in culture, a finding that may lead to new clinical strategies to improve doxorubicin efficacy in this hard to treat cancer. "The mechanism of statin-mediated inhibition of small G-protein function is the molecular basis of the drug-elicited reversion of doxorubicin resistance in human malignant mesothelioma cells," Dr. Amalia Bosia from University of Torino, Italy told Reuters Health. Dr. Bosia and colleagues investigated the ability of statins to reverse resistance to doxorubicin in drug-resistant primary human malignant mesothelioma cells and the molecular mechanism behind the reversion, according to their report in the July 1st issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
Compensation Bill receives Royal Assent
The public is to be better safeguarded and claims management companies more strictly regulated after the Compensation Bill received Royal Assent yesterday. The Compensation Act 2006 will also ensure that the recovery of compensation by people who contract mesothelioma, because they were negligently exposed to asbestos, will be quicker and simpler. And it will give reassurance to voluntary organisations and other groups who have curtailed activities due to a fear of litigation. DCA Minister Baroness Ashton said, "The Compensation Act is an important step in tackling false perceptions of a compensation culture. It will ensure that there is proper regulation of those who manage compensation claims. "For too long people have been pressured into making claims by "hard sell" tactics and misled by inappropriate and aggressive advertising.
Warning on risk from natural asbestos
ASBESTOS that occurs naturally in rocks and is disturbed by roadworks, construction or farming could pose a health risk. An engineering geologist, Marc Hendrickx, told a Melbourne conference yesterday there had been no medical assessment in Australia of the effect of disturbing low-level asbestos deposits. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fibre with several varieties, most notably blue (crocidolite) and white (chrysotile). Blue asbestos is typically found in Western Australia and is associated with mesothelioma. White asbestos, which causes lung cancer and asbestosis, is found near Gundagai, Port Macquarie and Orange, and in north-east Victoria. Construction of the Coolac bypass on the Hume Highway near Gundagai has been delayed for years because of asbestos.
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