Claim Against UK Atomic Energy Authority

Bridget Collier, a specialist solicitor with Fieldfisher, has recently settled a claim against UK Atomic Energy Authority. It was an interesting case where initially exposure was known to be in the various buildings of Springfield, but there had been no actual handling of the asbestos materials.

An initial meeting enabled our client to just talk through the positions held and the type of work that was undertaken and a picture was built up of the renovation work followed by the decommissioning work.

Bridget's team were able to track down documents using a Freedom of Information Act search which were key to recalling specific periods of time when there was removal of plant, alteration of the buildings and the  attitude of workers and management to health and safety during the period of decommissioning. There was a lot of redundancy and change between UK AEA and BNFL and procedures did not adhere to guidelines in that period.  From this discussion a detailed statement of exposure was possible.

UKAEA defended the claim when the case was issued at court and in the face of quite damming documents disclosed over 1500 pages of further documentation purportedly suggesting that the hazards were known about and that procedures were followed.

It was clear that UKAEA were hiding behind their significant disclosure. Their first batch relating to BNFL who were not involved in the case. The second batch included realms of policies designed to state what best practice was, without confirming how it was put into effect. It was lacking substance and the reality is that simply having a document in place does not prove what actually happened on the ground. It was testament to our client and their recollection of the reality of the situation that we could overcome the defence.

Conducting partner with Fieldfisher, Bridget Collier says "this is a David and Goliath situation. The production of policy documents will only be effective when those policies are put into place. It takes specialist knowledge of these claims to work through the hurdles set by the large companies and in this case I was delighted to settle the claim."

Contact us

For further information about asbestos and mesothelioma claims, please call Bridget Collier on 0330 460 6740 or email bridget.collier@fieldfisher.com.

Alternatively

• You can speak to our asbestos disease lawyers on freephone 0800 358 3848
• email us: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
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All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win, no fee. Find out more about no win no fee claims.