Loyal Bristol worker killed by asbestos

David Eaves worked for the same Bristol business for 44 years with hardly a day off.

But within nine months of retiring he was dead – a victim of working with asbestos.

His only comfort, as he gasped for every breath, was the belief that his wife of 40 years would be financially looked after by his employers, Bailey Caravans, based in South Liberty Lane, Bedminster.

But because of a complicated legal process Bailey Caravans, which generated a turnover of £78 million last year, does not have to pay compensation for Mr Eaves' death at the age of 65, on June 25, 2006.

Instead his grieving widow received £17,000 from the Government's Pneumoconiosis Workers Compensation Act fund, instead of a potential £200,000 payout had the company been liable.

The problem is that current owner Bailey Caravans bought FG Bailey Ltd in the 1970s, when companies did not have to take on the legal liabilities of the businesses they were buying.

Mr Eaves was exposed to asbestos between 1966 and 1969 as he drilled and fitted asbestos without a mask around ovens and fuel fires in caravans for FG Bailey Ltd.

Thompsons Solicitors, based in Old Market, made extensive investigations to trace another corporation that could have been liable but it had barely any money and there was no insurance cover that could pay out.

The situation has left his widow Dinah, aged 64, son Sean, 41, and daughter Caroline, 43, angry and hurt.

Mrs Eaves, who has lived in St Peter's Rise, Bishopsworth, her entire life, said: "When he retired they got him a year's membership at the gym. He was very fit and would often walk the two miles to work.

"Soon after he retired we went swimming and he was gasping for breath after only a length.

"He was going to the doctor anyway so I said he should ask and that was the start of it.

"They explained what a mesothelioma was and he remembered that he would fit asbestos around cookers and fires in the caravans during the 1960s. They didn't have any masks and he said they were working with asbestos for about four years.

"I can't understand how it can happen so fast – he was fit as a fiddle.

"The last six or seven months of his life were hell. I was nursing him 24/7 and he was just getting weaker and weaker, thinner and thinner. We were always a couple and always cared for each other. He didn't want to go into a hospice and I didn't want him to.

"The autopsy said he would have lived for an estimated 19 years more had he not had the disease.

"Directors from the company used to come and see him but it felt to me like they were on a fact-finding mission rather than there through genuine kindness. Solicitors asked if I wanted to speak to them but because of that, I declined.

"Dave was always so proud of what he did and if we were on holiday and saw one of their caravans he would find out what the owner thought and would report back. He was a loyal servant and it is very hurtful how he has been treated."

Son Sean added: "We are not suggesting that the company not paying out is illegal but feel it is immoral.

"He worked for that business for 44 years and in that time only ever took two weeks off with a bad back. He died thinking mum was being looked after and that is not the case."

Thompsons solicitor Stephen Loach told the Bristol Evening Post: "I am glad that, at the request of the General Municipal Boiler Makers' (GMB) Trade Union, we obtained some compensation for Mrs Eaves for the tragic death of her husband.

"I would have liked it to have been much more.

"Her case is a reminder of the increasing number of deaths from asbestos and the need to ensure that victims and their families are compensated fully.

"Mesothelioma alone causes 2,000 deaths each year in the UK. Most of those are due to exposure at work many years ago, as with Mr Eaves.

"When past employers have since ceased business it is vital to trace insurers. We estimate that thousands of asbestos victims fail to gain justice because of problems doing so. The Association of British Insurers' tracing scheme is inadequate.

"The GMB and Thompsons continue to campaign for a fund of last resort to be paid for by the insurance industry."

Bailey Caravans was contacted by the Bristol Evening Post but declined to comment.