Roger Lowe Campaign Meeting

I went to the Lowe families campaign meeting this evening (1st October 2007) which was very well attended.
It is so sad to see just how this terrible disease has touched so many people. Men who had unknowingly and loyaly, worked so hard to make sure they supported their families and in some cases gave a life sentence to themselves and their loved ones.
Seeing one poor man break down in tears made me want to say how wrong all of this is.
Still the goverment drags its heels on payments, widows who cannot get anything when they have lost their loved one and then find they lose again if they recieve incapacity benefit, men who have worked for their company for years and have retired, men who cannot claim anything as they have pleural plaque. It is a disgrace and needs to be fully highlighted.
Employers should be taking more responsibility in this area.
My situation is completely different, Secondary exposure, the new face of industrial disease.
I met an old school friend who has lost her sister the same way as I am going to lose my life.
She was unfortunate enough to have a father who worked for the MoD aswell.
At 46 years old, her sister lost her life through Mesothelioma and her family is in turmoil with sorting out the peices left behind. Isn’t it enough to lose someone to this?
I don’t want my children to have to worry about anything, I have to plan a funeral, My funeral, and also sort out all my finances to make sure they have no worries when I have gone.
I am so angry about this.
Wake up goverment, employers and any others who may well be squirming at the thought of being sued, start taking responsibility for the damage this mineral has done. This is never going to replace what the individual has lost, I know only too well about that, but it will help the family to sort out their finacial issues and not have the worry of how the family will cope.
My claim has been on going for 9-10 months now and the MoD promised in a statement that “Any claim would be dealt with quickly”. This hasn’t happened as they are still asking for more information that I don’t always feel is relevant to the case.
The people with this disease do not have time to wait for employees to decide whether they can/cannot get it. They should be given it if they have the disease and a decent sum not some stupid amount that won’t even cover the costs of living for 6 months, and what ever happened to this little ditty below?

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2007/mar/hsc023-130307.asp

I have heard no more about it since. I brought this up at the meeting.
Hopefully this meeting will have brought Meso to the fore front again.