A 60-year-old Dutch employee received, on May 18th, €50,000 in damages because he contracted asbestosis, a lung diseased caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. He contracted this pathology while working for 20 years for the Kondor construction firm (a subsidiary of VolkerWessles). His asbestosis was revealed in early 2007 – this pathology has a 15-20 year latency period and proves to less common than lung cancer or mesothelioma (rare form of lung cancer). This Leyde citizen was declared unable to work in 2009 and therefore receives benefits from the occupational invalidity insurance (in accordance with the law on working capacities and revenues, Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen, WIA). He claims he was never warned about the dangers of asbestos, a material with which he was in contract when working on the maintenance of the ceilings of the Estec agency, a structure answering to the European Space Agency (ESA) located in Noordwijk.
>Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen, WIA). He claims he was never warned about the dangers of asbestos, a material with which he was in contract when working on the maintenance of the ceilings of the Estec agency, a structure answering to the European Space Agency (ESA) located in Noordwijk.
An out-of-court settlement was found between the BBZ and Kondor’s insurer. There was no trial, but this case should nevertheless set a precedent. Indeed, after one week of lobbying by the FNV, the So
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