A woman from the UK is taking legal action after developing pleural plaques, a condition that is linked to exposure to airborne asbestos dust and fibers. The fifty five year old woman is suing a number of companies she believes to be responsible for the exposure that has caused pleural plaques. Valerie Pask, from Nottinghamshire in the UK , has already lost two brothers and her father as the result of asbestos related diseases.

Mrs Pask has suffered lengthy delays to her case since early 2006, when arguments erupted between campaigners and sufferers of this condition and insurance companies that claimed pleural plaques were not serious enough to justify a compensation payout. In June this argument went to the High Courts where a hearing took place to allow both sides to put forward their arguments.

Mrs Pask stated: said “I know now there is a real risk that I may develop a much more serious asbestos disease just like the rest of my family. I have seen, firsthand, how awful these diseases are and I am terrified that the asbestos I have been exposed to through no fault of my own will kill me. I was always a very outgoing person, but now that I have developed extensive pleural plaques I feel depressed all the time, thinking about my brothers and my father and what they went through gives me nightmares.”

A lawyer working on behalf of Mrs Pask stated: “Mrs Pask is acutely aware that there is a risk that she may develop a more serious asbestos-related disease in the future and she has seen, at close quarters, the painful consequences for her if that were to happen.”