THE daughter of a former Hull dock worker and Second World War veteran has been awarded a five-figure settlement from her father's former employers after he was exposed to asbestos.
Father-of-two John Raymond Carter, who served as a Royal Navy gunner during the war, died in November 2011 after a long battle with illness. He was 91.
An inquest later confirmed he died of asbestosis, a disease caused by exposure to asbestos.
His daughter, Jacqueline Hall, who gave up her work to care for her father, has now been awarded an undisclosed settlement from her father's previous employers Gillyott & Scott.
Mrs Hall, 55, said: "My dad was my life and I spent all of my time with him. I did everything for him for the last three years of his life.
"I am delighted we finally have justice for him and that those who failed to protect him for asbestos exposure have been held to account.
"It was so hard to see him suffer in the final months of his life when simply getting up in the morning and getting dressed would leave him exhausted.
"It was also heartbreaking to see him lose interest in football, as I always remembered him being a passionate armchair manager."
Mr Carter, of Bilton Grange, was a dock worker at Gillyott & Scott in the 1960s and 1970s, helping to load and unload sacks of asbestos from cargo ships at the King George, Albert and Victoria Docks in Hull.
He often loaded and unloaded hessian bags filled with blue and grey asbestos, which was confirmed to be the cause of his asbestosis.
Mrs Hall instructed lawyers to investigate whether more could have been done to protect her father and limit his exposure to the deadly material while working on the docks.
The financial settlement includes sums to cover her loss of earnings and provide financial security.
Mrs Hall said: "No amount of money will ever replace the loss of my dad and, since his death, I have been determined to honour his name, so I am hugely relieved that this settlement has been achieved.
"Hopefully, this settlement will highlight to employers the need to protect people from exposure to asbestos, so other families do not have to go through what we have."
Industrial disease lawyer Isobel Lovett, of Irwin Mitchell, said: "This has been an extremely difficult time for Jacqueline, who has fought determinedly and tirelessly to get justice for her father.
"During the course of his employment at Gillyott & Scott Limited, John was exposed to asbestos as he loaded and unloaded huge sacks of asbestos on and off of 'lighter' cargo barges at the company's premises, for which, unfortunately, he paid the ultimate price.
"Employers have been well aware of the dangers of exposing their staff to asbestos since as far back as the 1940s, so there is no excuse for workers not to have been protected or warned of the dangers of the dust.
"We hope this case serves as a reminder that negligence asbestos exposure will not be tolerated."
Lung condition caused by prolonged exposureASBESTOSIS is a long-term lung condition caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos was widely used in construction in the past and can release a fine dust that can damage the lungs over time.
Breathing in asbestos fibres may eventually scar the lungs and can cause shortness of breath, a persistent cough, wheezing, extreme tiredness and chest pain.
Most people diagnosed with asbestosis were exposed to fibres decades ago before effective controls were in place.
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