UK Nurse Shows Asbestos Dangers to Healthcare Workers

People with pleural mesothelioma need not have been exposed to high asbestos levels before their diagnosis. Their jobs may have had nothing to do with the cancer-causing mineral fiber. Many people working in hospitals have died of asbestos-related disease, after incidental exposure at work.

Monica Johnston is one example. She worked for the United Kingdom’s medical service for nearly fifty years when she was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. Like many with the disease in the US, she’s filed a legal claim to receive compensation for her situation.

Deadly Diagnosis Comes as a Surprise

Johnston is terminally ill, according to the BBC. “I’ve tortured myself trying to find out where I encountered asbestos,” she told them. The only place she and her attorneys can come up with is the hospital where she worked, the Royal Victoria Hospital. She is 66 and started working there when she was 16. Johnston retired after her diagnosis in 2023.

“Even as an experienced nurse, I had never heard of (mesothelioma), and the doctor explained that the only way you can get it is by coming into contact with asbestos,” Johnston said.

How Does a Nurse Develop Pleural Mesothelioma?

Asbestos was used in building materials at the hospital. They may have caused her disease even though as a nurse she never worked directly with products containing asbestos. Johnston may have been exposed to its cancer-causing asbestos fibers when others installed these products, when they deteriorated, were torn out, or replaced.

The building where she worked was constructed in the 1950s when asbestos-containing products were widely used. Parts of the building had asbestos removed in 2015. Johnston’s former employer states it has 148 buildings containing asbestos, but they present a “low risk” of endangering those inside.

Asbestos fibers are extremely light and strong. Johnston may have been in an area where the products existed or the fibers may have floated through the air for a long distance before she inhaled or swallowed them. Her exposure may have been early in her career because it may take forty to fifty years from initial asbestos exposure to mesothelioma diagnosis.

Some people are genetically pre-disposed to developing pleural mesothelioma. While some may be heavily exposed to asbestos and never develop the condition, others may be relatively lightly exposed to develop this cancer type.

Johnston said she loved her job and was in very good health for most of her life. She said she never smoked. In 2021, she noticed she was becoming short of breath, but initially, she wasn’t correctly diagnosed. She later developed chest pains and passed out at work. Radiology scans indicated Johnston had pleural mesothelioma.

“It’s too late for me, and it’s not about scaremongering, but I want to make people aware of the risks out there,” she told the BBC.

Mesothelioma is a Worldwide Problem

The BBC estimates that from 2014 to 2023, 699 people in Northern Ireland died asbestos-related deaths. This part of the UK had an estimated population of 1.9 million in 2022, about three times the population of Louisville. An estimated 3,109 people in Kentucky died of asbestos-related diseases from 1999 to 2017, according to the Environmental Work Group.

The BBC states that since 2019, the equivalent of $10.3 million has been spent to remove asbestos from hundreds of Northern Ireland’s hospitals and healthcare buildings. Most asbestos compensation claims in the area come from those who worked in Belfast’s shipbuilding industry.

Call Us Today for a Free Consultation

You need not work with asbestos-containing products to develop an asbestos-related disease like pleural mesothelioma. You may only work in an area where they were used. Many spouses of those working with asbestos developed mesothelioma because they inhaled fibers on their husband’s work clothes.

If you have an asbestos-related illness, including mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation. To discuss your situation and how Satterley & Kelley, PLLC can help, call our Louisville office toll-free at 855-385-9532. You may also complete our contact form for a free initial consultation.