Major pub operator, Mitchells and Butlers (“M&B”) pleaded guilty to exposing workmen to asbestos at one of their pubs.  The exposure to harmful asbestos dust occurred during refurbishment works at a vacant M&B pub, the White Horse, on Harrowgate Hill, Darlington.

The Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) found that the firm had carried out an asbestos survey in June 2007 but the search was restricted to the areas affected by the proposed refurbishment. The proposals for the work subsequently changed resulting in different parts of the property being affected. Despite this, an up to date asbestos survey was not commissioned.

Bishops Auckland Magistrates’ Court heard how when tradesmen entered the pub in September 2007 they began work in a kitchen area not included in the original asbestos survey.

In the kitchen there were ceiling tiles which contained asbestos. During the course of the refurbishment the tradesmen drilled into the tiles releasing dangerous asbestos fibres into the atmosphere.

If an asbestos survey had been done on this area of the pub, the asbestos would have been identified and the workers protected from the dangers of inhaling asbestos dust.  

A number of tradesmen, three electricians and two plumbers, were exposed to asbestos during the incident. One of the workers involved, said: “Because the effects of asbestos take a long time to show up, the worry of whether the asbestos has caused lasting damage to my health will stay with me for years to come. And it’s not just me – it’s a huge worry for my partner also, as there is a chance that she might have been exposed to fibres that were brought home on my work clothes.”

M&B pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. In addition the firm was ordered to pay costs of £11,781.45.

The Birmingham based company were ordered to pay a separate ’15 victim surcharge’ to be spent on services for victims and witnesses.

The HSE investigation also found that the workers involved in the refurbishment had not been provided with any asbestos awareness training. Four of the contractors hired by M&B were served with notices from the HSE instructing them to carry out this training.

HSE Inspector Victoria Wise commented: “Mitchells & Butlers Retail Ltd knew there was asbestos in the building and should have ensured that all the areas where work was to be done had been checked for asbestos and the necessary precautions taken.”

She went on: “Everyone who owns or operates commercial premises built prior to 2000 must ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment for asbestos has been carried out prior to any construction wok starting.”

Asbestos is still the biggest single cause of work related deaths in the UK, with an estimated 4,000 people dying every year.

In November this year M&B recorded a 26% rise in annual pre-tax profits on a turnover of nearly £2bn.

A spokesperson for M&B said: “Mitchells and Butlers recognises the seriousness of this matter and has cooperated fully with the Health & Safety Executive throughout its entire investigation. ......The Company offers its sincere apologies to all those affected and fully accepts the decision of the Magistrates Court.”

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About John Pickering and Partners LLP

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors

We are a dedicated personal injury law firm who do not do other types of work.  We specialise in claiming damages for asbestos sufferers. We have been handling compensation claims for industrial disease for over 30 years. Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims who suffer from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. 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 donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers.  We have set up a charitable trust to help to fund medical research into mesothelioma and various organisations that help and support asbestos sufferers and their families.

Find out more 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  our reported cases. We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  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 landmark 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).

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 first Action Mesothelioma Day was launched on 27th February 2006.  Its objectives were 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 who may be exposed to asbestos.

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

Contact us to find out more about your entitlement to claim compensation if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or pleural thickening.

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