A man who was diagnosed with asbestosis fifty years after exposure has seen the original judgement to award him compensation upheld at the Court of Appeal.
David Chandler, 71, who now lives in Australia, contracted the disease in 2007. He managed to trace his exposure back to a brief period of employment between 1959 and 1962 when he worked for a company called Uxbridge Flint Brick Company which later became Cape Building Products Ltd.
One year ago Mr Chandler was awarded £120,000 compensation for his condition after Cape Building Products Ltd were found to be liable for his condition.
The judge ruled that they were at fault on the common law concept of assumption of responsibility.
Cape Building Products Ltd, which is no longer trading, appealed against the decision but to no avail.
Lady Justice Arden, Justice Moses, and Lord Justice McFarlane said: “We understand that this is one of the first cases in which an employee has established at trial liability to him on the part of his employer’s parent company, and thus this appeal is of some importance not only to the parties but to other cases.”
Mr Chandler’s solicitors were very pleased with the outcome and described the ruling as historic. They said a new legal precedent has been established which made the holding parent company responsible for the actions of their subsidiaries.
Asbestosis is caused through asbestos exposure and is fatal. It is believed cases will continue to rise over the next decade.
