NEWS
THURSDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2019
Digby Brown support Clydebank Asbestos Group AGM
The AGM held on the 14th September 2019 heard from Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG) chair, Bob Dickie who highlighted some outstanding achievements of the charity in the past year, which includes a record amount of damages, workers compensation and benefits recovered for members.
This year has seen important changes, and special mention was made of the outstanding contribution of retiring Secretary, Hope Robertson, and the recruitment of Theresa Jones as Charity Co-Coordinator.
Provost William Hendrie, after recognising the important work of the Group for the local community, then oversaw the re-election of all current board members.
Hope Robertson and Provost William Hendrie
A loyal supporter of the Charity, constituency MP, Martin Docherty-Hughes then spoke of his work in Asbestos Committees at Westminster, and the frustrations faced in pursuing the interests of asbestos victims and holding the UK Government to account in the face of Parliament's prorogation.
Bill Kidd MSP then spoke of the prominent role played by campaigners such as Clydebank Asbestos Group, working alongside MSP, trade unionists and others to achieve legislative change to benefit the lives of asbestos victims and their families.
Fraser Simpson, head of specialist Industrial Disease team at Digby Brown, then provided a summary of legal developments in the past year. Highlights included the achievement of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK in their ongoing litigation against Cape Insulation to force disclosure of documentation which will greatly assist asbestos victims to secure justice, and identifying the need to campaign to amend the Mesothelioma Act 2014 to create a fund of last resort to benefit all asbestos victims.
The AGM concluded with the presentation of awards to retiring board members, Hope Robertson and Dennis Cairns, and long-standing members including Joan Baird in recognition of their outstanding contributions over the years. Current volunteers Ann Dalziel, Christine Sayer, Maria Flanagan and Robert Dickie, were also recognised for their long service and dedication to CAG.
THURSDAY 11th JULY 2019
Walk raised thousands for Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG)
Staff from Digby Brown Solicitors raised more than £4,200 earlier this year through a 20-mile hike from Croy to Clydesbank's International Asbestos Memorial for Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG).
CAG chairman Bob Dickie said: "We are incredibly humbled by the supportive efforts shown by the team at Digby Brown.
"It's generous donations like this that have helped us help others since 1992.
"I would therefore like to extend a deep and warm thanks to this incredible team for their efforts in supporting not just the charity but the individuals and families who will benefit from this donation."
Fraser Simpson, partner and head of industrial disease at Digby Brown, said: "Community-led support groups provide vital services that thousands of people have relied on and will continue to rely on in the future.
"It therefore fills us with great pride to play a small part in these efforts. We see first hand the physical, emotional and practical trauma experienced by sufferers of asbestos-related diseases and indeed their loved ones."
MONDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2018
Do GPs know about help available for asbestos victims?
We were delighted to attend the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Primary Care Conference & Exhibition on the 4th and 5th October in Glasgow with Asbestos Action.
The aim of the day was to raise awareness with GP’s of the importance of informing patients diagnosed with an asbestos related condition of the invaluable help and assistance which Forum support groups can offer, and the rights of victims and their families to claim benefits, or compensation from their past employer who exposed them to asbestos.
MONDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2018
Is the law supporting low exposure asbestos victims?
For generations, employers exposed their workers to asbestos, a known harmful substance. Workers that developed an asbestos disease have been able to secure compensation for their employers negligence.
However, people with a low level of exposure to asbestos have found it difficult to access compensation for their condition.
It wasn’t just workers handling asbestos day in and day out that came into contact with asbestos. Others encountered the harmful substance on a limited number of occasions and families also came into contact after workers returned home covered in asbestos dust.
WEDNESDAY 21st MARCH 2018
Next generation need to help those affected by asbestos
A woman who has dedicated her life to helping those affected by the killer substance asbestos has said the next generation need to step up and help those whose lives have been afflicted by the deadly material.
Hope Robertson's tradesman husband, David died after contracting mesothelioma - a fatal cancer in the outer lining of the lung.
FRIDAY 21st APRIL 2017
Conference hears stark warnings about threat of asbestos today
The dangers of asbestos exposure and the threat asbestos poses to people of all ages throughout Scotland today were the main themes of a conference held in Glasgow on Friday 21st April.
Glasgow’s Science Centre was an appropriate venue for an event held to highlight that asbestos exposure and asbestos related illnesses are not relics of our industrial past but a public health issue affecting individuals and families in Scotland today.
THURSDAY 6th APRIL 2017
Glasgow Cancer Centre the first to offer procedure for asbestos related cancer
The Beatson cancer Centre in Glasgow is the first in Scotland to begin offering a surgical procedure to end the severe pain experienced by those with an asbestos-related cancer.
This new development is very much welcomed by Clydebank Asbestos Group who have first-hand experience of asbestos disease and have been campaigning to raise awareness of this disease.