His son, Carl, 57, is appealing for information from his father’s former colleagues to discover more about how Mr Addison came into contact with asbestos.
The 79-year-old left the RAF in 1966 and became a lift engineer’s assistant, working initially for Fairfield Promotions Limited, also known as Fairfield Lift & Escalator Company, which had offices in Bradford and Cleveland, and later at Ebor Lift Company, based in York.
It is during his time in this role at the companies, that Mr Addison said he came into contact with asbestos that caused him to develop mesothelioma.
His family has instructed specialist asbestos-related disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office to investigate whether or not more could have been done by his former employers to protect him from the dangers posed by asbestos. Carl said:
“My family have been left absolutely devastated by my dad’s death. It is still extremely fresh for us but we want to get to the bottom of what caused his illness and where exactly he was exposed to asbestos.
Dad was always fit and healthy and I know that his diagnosis really affected him and he was worried what the future would hold for him and the rest of the family and in particular my mother.
I can only hope people who worked with him will recognise him and come forward with the information we need to ensure those responsible for failing to prevent his asbestos exposure are held to account.”
During his career working in the lift maintenance and repair industry, Mr Addison worked during the 1970s and the early 1980s at various power stations in Yorkshire including Ferrybridge B and C, Skelton Grange and Thorpe Marsh in Doncaster and Keadby Power station in Scunthorpe.
He worked in dusty conditions and saw employees of the power stations stripping lagging from pipework while he was undertaking his lift duties.
Nicola Handley, a specialist industrial disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:
“Sadly, we know through our work, that many employers did not do enough to manage the risk associated with asbestos, even as late as in the 1980s, when extensive legislation had already been passed.
We are now appealing to any of Brian’s former colleagues who worked with him at Fairfield Promotions Limited/Fairfield Lift & Escalator Company and Ebor Lift Company to contact us in order to discuss the working conditions.”
Anyone with information on the presence of asbestos at the companies named should contact Nicola Handley on (0113) 220 6233 or email Nicola.Handley@IrwinMitchell.com