Teacher secures out of court settlement following death from mesothelioma
In a recently reported out of court settlement a school teacher was paid compensation by the local authority following a claim that his illness was caused as a result of inhaling deadly asbestos fibres during the course of his employment.
The victim alleged he had been exposed to asbestos fibres during his teaching career with a significant exposure occurring in a storage cupboard that contained asbestos insulating boards.
Teachers deaths from mesothelioma have increased from 3 a year in the 1980s to 14 a year in the last 10 year period.
The Education Select Committee heard evidence in March 2013 from Professor Julian Peto who stated that “there are now 400 deaths a year in women from mesothelioma; most of those are from asbestos in buildings-a good two-thirds of them are caused by asbestos in school buildings.”
Claims against schools are complex and require specialist advice, Julie Winn, Head of Asbestos at Pattinson & Brewer said “ This is yet another tragic example of a teacher dying from mesothelioma having spent his teaching career working in what should have been an environment safe from the dangers of asbestos. Children are known to be more at risk from asbestos and the increasing number of teacher deaths is of great concern as schools contain large numbers of vulnerable children.”