A council has been held liable over the death of a man it never employed in a ruling which lawyers say removes a "black hole" around asbestos claims.
David Bavaird died in 2008 - 12 years after South Lanarkshire Council assumed the liabilities of his ex-employer, the East Kilbride Development Corporation. The council's case that it was not liable as he was not ill in 1996 was rejected at the Court of Session. His family's lawyers said defeat may have meant other claims failed too. The court heard that Mr Bavaird was exposed to asbestos during his employment with the corporation in the 1960s. Liability transfer The corporation was wound up in 1996 and its legal liabilities were transferred to South Lanarkshire Council. Mr Bavaird, who was from East Kilbride, died of the asbestos-related lung disease, mesothelioma, in 2008. His family subsequently raised an action against the council and other bodies. This was a highly complex case, as was reflected by Lord Brailsford's earlier ruling that the council could not be held liable A previous ruling at the outer house of the Court of Session in October last year upheld the council's case that it was not liable. This ruling has now been overturned by the inner house judges, Lady Paton sitting with Lord Drummond Young and Lord Marnoch. Following the ruling, Laura Blane, from Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Bavaird's family, said: "Had the Court of Session not... |
