Supreme Court rules on landmark asbestos cases

Seven Judges at the Supreme Court have ruled that two families can keep compensation awarded by the courts to their now-deceased loved ones after they contracted mesothelioma, having come into contact with low level doses of asbestos dust. 

It is believed that a number of other cases could now come forward from people exposed to small amounts of asbestos a long time ago.

Dianne Willmore was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the end of March 2007 at the age of 46.  She said she had been exposed to asbestos whilst a pupil at Bowring Comprehensive school in Merseyside in the 1970s. In 2009, Dianne was awarded £240,000 in compensation.  Knowsley Council appealed to the Court of Appeal. On 14 October 2010, the Court of Appeal said that the case should not be overturned. Dianne died the day after the decision was made and a further appeal was launched.

Enid Costello died of mesothelioma in January 2006, aged 74. She had been exposed to asbestos dust whilst working as an office worker at a factory making steel drums between 1964 and 1988. She went into the factory which was at times contaminated with asbestos dust. She initially lost her case in October 2008 but when her case went to Court of Appeal in November 2009 the three Appeal Judges held in favour of Mrs Costello. The employer (Greif UK) argued that it had to be proved that the asbestos dust that she came into contact with at work more than doubled her risk of developing mesothelioma.

All seven Law Lords said that the test as to whether or not a person should be compensated should remain as the ‘material contribution’ test and not a ‘doubling of the risk’ test as the Council and employers had suggested.

Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court, said:

“Although the defendants didn’t expose the victims to very much dust, in each case they significantly increased the risk that the victim might get mesothelioma and must be treated as having been responsible for that tragic outcome.”

Commenting on Dianne Willmore’s case, Adrian Budgen, Partner and Head of Irwin Mitchell's national asbestos disease litigation team, said:

“This ruling is a positive step towards proper acknowledgment of the risks that asbestos can pose in schools and other public buildings, even if the amount of fibres which pupils, teachers and others come into contact with is relatively small.

“The specialist team here at Irwin Mitchell has represented a number of teachers, schools workers and pupils who have suffered from asbestos-related cancer, which sadly demonstrates that cases like Dianne Willmore’s are not uncommon.”

Adrian added:

“The risks posed by the toxic fibres have been shown to be far greater in children’s lungs rather than those which are fully-developed, meaning school pupils are more susceptible to the dangers of asbestos.

“We hope that this ruling – and its implications over what ‘low-level’ exposure can lead to – will lead to a step change in how the hazardous material’s presence in schools is viewed and hopefully lead to its eventual removal from all sites.

“In addition, we will continue to campaign for the creation of a national register of public buildings that will allow those who work at such sites to be aware of the presence of asbestos and have the chance to prevent themselves from being exposed to the material.”

A spokesperson for Knowsley Council told The Guardian:

"It has always been clear that Mrs Willmore suffered from a severe illness which was caused by exposure to asbestos and the Council is, and always has been, extremely sympathetic towards Mrs Willmore and her family."