Sister Attempts to Trace Asbestos Link

A heart-broken sister is trying to trace where her brother may have been exposed to asbestos after he attempted to take his own life after being diagnosed with lung disease.

Norman Grimshaw, 65, who lived and worked in Oldham, wrote a suicide note to his sister Susan before taking a cocktail of prescription medication he had been taking to cope with the pain.

The retired hotel chef had been diagnosed with asbestosis and pleural plaques just six months earlier. Following his attempted overdose he called an ambulance but died in hospital eight days later, in September 2013.

An inquest found that his death was caused by respiratory failure as a result of his lungs being damaged by inhaling asbestos dust.

Now, Norman's sister Susan is on a quest to establish where and when her brother came into contact with asbestos. She said:

"He couldn't breathe, he could no longer manage the stairs. He didn't like burdening other people and that's why he tried to kill himself.

"He said in his diary he couldn't handle it any more. That was the last thing he wrote.

"I am angry because if the risks were known, he should have been better protected and could have had many more years with us. It's such a waste of life."

If you believe your illness may have been caused by your employment, speak to our specialist industrial disease solicitors today. Call us on 0161 627 2469.

Mellor Hargreaves Ltd

Industrial Disease Solicitors