Asbestos in Britain's schools

Asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma and asbestosis are more closely related in the public imagination with the ship-building and construction industries than UK schools. This is naturally the case as personal injury solicitors deal with a great deal of compensation claims from these industries.

However, some teaching unions and health and safety groups are predicting a rise over the next twenty years in the number of asbestos-related compensation claims passing through the offices of personal injury solicitors by way of former Department of Education staff.

In some areas of the UK it is not uncommon for as many as 90% of schools to still contain asbestos in some shape or form.

The North East of England is one such place and its residents are very conscious of the dangers asbestos poses. Many people who worked with asbestos in an industrial setting during the 1960s and 1970s are now making compensation claims through personal injury solicitors. Conscious of the need to reduce asbestos tragedies, traumatised communities are trying to highlight the risk, however small, still existing in schools.

The area's media are representative of this concern. Under the Freedom of Information Act, one Newcastle newspaper discovered that asbestos still existed in 879 of the regions' 964 schools.

While the danger of developing asbestos-related illnesses from working in schools is, for the most part, not as high as it would be for someone who's worked as a manual labourer in an industry such as plastering or welding, there is still a risk and some unfortunate Department of Education staff may still have to make recourse to personal injury solicitors.

Where does the asbestos risk lie in UK schools?
The majority of British schools were built in the 1960s when asbestos use was still prevalent and before doctors and personal injury solicitors witnessed the epidemic of illnesses in asbestos reliant industries.

Between the 1940s and 1970s, asbestos was used in UK schools to build wall panels, lag pipes and develop laboratory safety equipment. In some English, Scottish and Welsh schools asbestos cement was used for building as late as 1999.

The foremost asbestos exposure risk to current teachers and students in the UK is from sticking drawing-pins into ceilings and walls which contain asbestos fibres.

There is also a risk that school maintenance workers may be exposed in doing things such as drilling holes in walls to create new computer networks. Personal injury solicitors have recently seen a number of asbestos compensation claims coming from this kind of worker.

It is also worth noting that students who vandalise old asbestos containing property may endanger themselves and others by disturbing asbestos fibres.

What is being done to prevent students and teachers from asbestos?
UK schools are legally obligated to have a risk assessment plan in place for asbestos. This involves pinpointing where the asbestos risk exists and notifying teachers and pupils so that they do not pin work to the contaminated areas.

Though the current risk is minimal, teachers' unions are concerned that because of the lengthy incubation period for asbestos-related diseases personal injury solicitors may yet face an inundation of asbestos compensation claims from teachers and students who were exposed to asbestos twenty, thirty and forty years ago.

Making a no win, no fee claim
If you have developed an asbestos-related disease through exposure to asbestos in your place of work or school you could be entitled to claim personal injury compensation.

Here at YouClaim our panel of expert personal injury solicitors have extensive experience in dealing with this kind of claim. In fact, they have a fantastic success rate.

When you make a compensation bid with YouClaim we do everything we can to protect your interests. This includes ensuring that, win or lose, you do not incur a single penny of costs or fees. Providing you win, you will keep 100% of your compensation cheque; and even in the event of your claim proving unsuccessful, an insurance policy we can take out on your behalf ensures you will not have to pay anything of the winning sides costs.

So why not investigate your right to compensation today? You can request that one of our legal advisors call you back at a time convenient to you, fill out an easy to use online claims form or, alternatively, call us now on 0800 10 757 95 to take advantage of our panel of specialist asbestos personal injury solicitors.