'I not only lost my husband to a cruel disease, I lost the man who pledged to care for me' Widow sues for a record pounds 1m damages.

Byline: Katy Simpson

AWIDOW suing for record pounds 1m damages over her husband's death from asbestosis has told how he cared for her through her battle with Parkinson's Disease.

It was a poignant moment during their marriage vows when Carole Devoy and her late husband Alex promised to stick by each other in sickness and in health.

While the couple from West Rainton, Houghton-le-Spring, were engaged, Mrs Devoy, 65, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Her fianc refused to consider cancelling the wedding, and devoted himself to taking care of her.

But Mr Devoy was tragically struck down himself at the age of 68, after being diagnosed with a lung tumour caused by exposure to asbestos in the Merchant Navy and in dockyards. He died less than six months later.

It was a double tragedy for Mrs Devoy, who not only faced the grief of losing her husband, but also the difficulties of life without her full-time carer, who cooked, cleaned, shopped and looked after Mrs Devoy since she was diagnosed with the disease 13 years ago.

Without him, Mrs Devoy found herself isolated and struggling to cope. Unable to make proper meals for herself, she only ate snack food and lost over three stone.

As her condition deteriorated, the grandmother-of-six had no choice but to pay for a carer to help her during the day, at the cost of over pounds 2,000 a month.

But doctors say she will soon need round-the-clock care. In less than five years, Mrs Devoy, a former secretary, is expected to need a live-in carer, which will cost thousands of pounds more.

In a desperate bid to cover the costs, she launched a landmark law suit for compensation for the loss of her husband, not just as a spouse, but as a carer.

She is suing a shipbuilder -- for whom her husband worked as a fitter between 1955 and 1959 - and an engineering company, for whom he worked between 1960 and 1970.

The issue of liability for Mr Devoy's illness and death is no longer contested, but the task now before the judge is to assess the compensation owed to his widow for her loss.

Mr Devoy developed the first symptoms of mesothelioma three years ago - a cancer of the lining of the lungs, notorious for its incurability, slowness to develop and for the agony suffered by its victims - and in December 2006 collapsed with a stroke, probably caused by his tumour spreading to the brain.

With the help of a zimmer frame, Mrs Devoy attended London's High Court to give evidence at a hearing earlier this week, and was described by her QC, Christopher Melton, as a "remarkably resilient" and "courageous" woman.

Mrs Devoy, who also suffers from back problems, told The Journal of her heartache at losing the man who meant everything to her.

"When he was diagnosed my world just fell apart," she said. "We thought he would have about two years to live, but he didn't even have six months. He must have worried about what would happen to me, but he never talked about it. He didn't want to accept it.

"Naturally I feel angry - you can't help wanting to ask why have they taken him away from us?" But for Mrs Devoy, it is not the first time she has been cruelly robbed of a loved one by an industrial disease.

Her first husband, Peter Jobe, died of bladder cancer at the age of just 48 in 1989. The illness was linked to his time working for a security printing and papermaking company.

Carole met her second husband on her first night out with friends, as she tried to piece her life back together. They eventually married in December 1999 - despite her diagnosis.

"I showed a few of the typical symp- toms and my GP warned me he thought it was Parkinson's," said Carole. "When I came out of the hospital after being given the diagnosis, I took my engagement ring off and I said to him 'you have the choice.

I said if you don't want this, you have the freedom to go. ' "He just said 'put your ring back on, of course I still want to marry you.' When I went into the second stage, he would never accept me as being disabled, he just saw me as me." The High Court heard how Mr Devoy was a constant source of support for his wife, with the couple attending jazz concerts, enjoying country outings, and taking foreign holidays.

Mrs Devoy told Judge Michael Reddihough that Mr Devoy would have striven to provide near total care for her - rather than getting in professional help.

"He would have been very reluctant to employ a carer. He would have preferred to struggle on as best he could," she told the court.

"If Alex had still been alive he would have continued to look after me", said Mrs Devoy. "He was always on hand in the house, on his computer, or in the greenhouse or the garden".

Given the importance and unique nature of the case, Judge Reddihough is expected to reserve his ruling on Mrs Devoy's damages claim until a later date.

Comment 10

THE DISEASE AND THE COMPENSATION ASBESTOSIS is a benign lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibres which cause scarring and thickening to the lung tissues.

It normally only affects people who have been exposed to a lot of asbestos over a long period of time.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen caused only by exposure to asbestos. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

Average compensation payouts are around pounds 30,000 to pounds 35,000.

Victims who were negligently exposed to asbestos and developed pleural plaques, a scarring of the lungs which can lead to deadly conditions, have been entitled to compensation since the 1980s.

In 2006 the Lords cut the amount of compensation payable to those suffering from mesothelioma, making it harder to bring a successful case against employers where there had been asbestos exposure with more than one company. That ruling was later overturned.

CAPTION(S):

DEVOTED The Devoys on their wedding day and, right, on a day out. COURAGE Carole Devoy will soon need round-the-clock care.