Dudley Maasz, a former employee of Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom, died in July 2006 from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma diagnoses have been on the rise in individuals who were negligently exposed to asbestos fibers by their employers in the mechanical, construction, and manufacturing industries as well as select other industrial places of employment.
Mesothelioma is a very aggressive and incurable cancer caused exclusively by exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos fibers that become airborne can be inhaled or ingested. These fibers then lodge themselves in a protective tissue that encases all of our organs called the mesothelium. Fibers that become entangled in the mesothelium cause tissue scarring than can eventually develop into malignant tumors. The disease can take decades to fully develop from the time of exposure to asbestos to the time of diagnosis with the cancer. By the time cancerous tumors have developed, however, the prognosis for the disease is very poor, often giving the patient no more than 6 to 18 months to live.
Asbestos was heavily used throughout the twentieth century as a construction material and heavy grade insulator. The substance is incredibly resistant to heat and fire, a fantastic insulator, and can easily be woven into pliable fabrics or pressed into dense boards. Even though the hazard that asbestos presented to human health was known as early as the 1930′s, its use continued until the turn of the century due to its immense usefulness and what some are claiming is a concerted effort to downplay its harmful effects. Regardless of why asbestos was used for so long after its dangers were known, employers are now paying for their negligence decades and decades later.
Mr. Maasz was regularly exposed to asbestos when he worked for the Great Western Railway as a fireman and cleaner during the 1940′s. The material was used extensively throughout the locomotives on which he worked, insulating and coating various elements of the machine and releasing dangerous fibers into the air. Employers at the time, while vaguely aware of the danger of asbestos, chose not to pursue healthier environments for their employees.
Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose due to the obscurity of its symptoms and its long latency, or the time it takes to develop from the time of exposure to the carcinogenic agent. Many victims of mesothelioma are unaware that they worked around asbestos because there was no publicity about the issue at the time of their exposure.
Mr. Maasz also worked for the Oxford University Press and Morris Motors after working for the Great Western Railway. In 2005 he noticed some recurring pain and discomfort in his shoulder and side, and after conferring with his doctor, was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He died of the disease in July of 2006, at seventy four years old.
Maasz’s family has been paid their claim of £98,000 plus costs by BRB (Residuary) Limited, formerly British Rail.
