Court closes inquest into mesothelioma case

Thursday 30 March 2023

The inquest into the death of man who was exposed to asbestos throughout his professional life was opened and closed yesterday, with the courts accepting a verdict of death due to industrial disease.

Michael John Bourgaize was 72 when he died at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital on Thursday 2 March 2023.

Judge Gary Perry accepted the suspected cause of death, of cancer lining the abdominal cavity, as well as ischaemic heart disease. 

Mr Bourgaize was firstly exposed to asbestos on a regular basis when he worked in greenhouses immediately after leaving school, at a time where the material would’ve been present in pipe insulation.

At the end of his career, he worked as a cleaner and senior technician at La Mare de Carteret School. One of his duties was to access the building’s roof which was believed to contain asbestos.  

He was last admitted to hospital locally on Febraruy 28 for management of end stage disease.

Judge Perry expressed his “deepest sympathies” with Mr Bourgaize’s friends and family and granted release of the body.