John Lewis has been fined £20,000 for potentially exposing workmen to harmful asbestos fibres as a result of not carrying out the correct checks for asbestos prior to refurbishment works being carried out in its Edinburgh store.  The high street giant employed contractors, Morris and Spottiswood, to carry out the work to the management suite on the top floor of the premises at the St James Centre in July 2008. The contractors have also been fined £20,000.

During the hearing in Edinburgh the court heard how the workmen were instructed to continue working even after they discovery of asbestos had been made. Up to 15 construction workers were potentially exposed to harmful asbestos.

Both companies pleaded guilty to three breaches of health and safety regulations.

The Edinburgh Sherriff Court heard that there are three types of checks for asbestos which should be done when carrying out building works. The first two checks are only suitable for use in domestic households. A type three test should have been done by either John Lewis or Morris and Spottiswood before any work was started on the project. Instead only a type two check was carried out.

The type two test was not thorough enough and did not detect an asbestos board between two radiators. It was not until the work was well underway that a joiner raised the alarm and work was temporarily stopped.

While the board was sent away for analysis work resumed. It was only when the results came back positive that work was halted.

Further investigations after the incident apparently showed that asbestos had not spread outside of the management suite.

Procurator Fiscal Maureen McGovern said “The potential risk of what could have happened is very great, and both companies did not make the suitable safety checks, nor did they ensure that the other one had.”

The City of Edinburgh Council bought the case to court following an intensive investigation lasting 12 months. Robert Aldridge, Environment leader, said “Our expectation as an enforcing authority is that large organisations should be leading the way on these important issues and not failing to meet basic minimum requirements.”

The sanctions were issued on 9^th November by Sherriff Elizabeth Jarvie at Edinburgh Sherriff court. She reduced both fines from £30,000 to reflect the guilty pleas.

John Lewis apologised for the incident through their defence lawyer, Robert Fife. He went on to say that since the incident the company have spent 300 man hours and £100,000 ensuring that nothing like this will happen again.

Barry Matheson, Managing Director of John Lewis issued a statement in response to the penalty: - “John Lewis takes today’s decision of the court seriously. This incident has shaped stringent new health and safety protocols, which have now been implemented at John Lewis. Comprehensive new training, refresher courses, clear communication and senior management involvement has been introduced as standard across all our branches in the UK.”

Defence lawyer, Craig Turnbull, for Morris and Spottiswood said: - “The offence is very much regretted by Morris and Spottiswood and they tender apologies and they have done what they can to prevent a reoccurrence.”

Asbestos related illnesses are caused by inhaling asbestos fibres. Exposure can lead to mesothelioma, a rare type of lung cancer, scarring of the lungs and other respiratory problems.

As well as mesothelioma, asbestos exposure is also responsible for causing asbestosis, lung cancer and diffuse pleural thickening. Asbestos products, such as insulation boards and ceiling tiles, were heavily used in the building and construction industries during the 1960s and 1970s. When asbestos is disturbed or damaged fibres become airborne and are inhaled.  When inhaled the asbestos fibres penetrate the lung tissue and cause an inflammatory reaction. 

Asbestos related illnesses can take decades to become apparent and cause symptoms. There is currently no cure for asbestos related illnesses. In the UK alone over 4,000 people die every year from asbestos related illnesses.

Contact details:

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Notes

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors.

We are a specialist personal injury law firm.  We have been handling claims for industrial disease for over 30 years.  Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims. 

We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers.  We have an ethical approach and pledge to donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers. 

Click here to find out about our donations to good causes.  We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law.  Find out more about us or find out about our reported cases.  We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Click here to find out more about what others have said about us.

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."   Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs.  It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

According to the British Lung Foundation, more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.

The British Lung Foundation, supported by John Pickering and Partners LLP, launched the first Action Mesothelioma Day on 27th February 2006, to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people working with asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.