Elizabeth Bradford v Inner London Education Authority
(ILEA)
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Elizabeth Bradford trained as a teacher and worked as a
qualified teacher from 1967 until she retired in 2001, except for
periods she spent away from work raising her family. She worked in
various schools in Wandsworth and in Lambeth, South London, when
she was employed by the Inner London Education Authority
(ILEA). It was between about 1979 and about 1985 that Mrs
Bradford was exposed to asbestos and it was in December 2005 that
Mrs Bradford was told that she was suffering from mesothelioma.
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Between 1979 and 1985 Mrs Bradford worked in a prefabricated
building, situated in the school playground, that was used as a
classroom for infant children. The building was fabricated from
asbestos-containing materials. Unaware of
any risks to her health, Mrs Bradford pinned the children’s work to
the walls using drawing pins, throughout this period. She was not
exposed to asbestos anywhere else.
Mrs Bradford instructed Andrew Morgan
to make a claim for compensation as a result of this exposure. At
the same time she made her own claim for a lump sum payment under
the Pneumoconiosis Etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act.
Mrs Bradford’s claim for a lump sum payment was initially
rejected. The DWP said that they would not make any payment because
exposure during her employment with the London Borough of Lambeth
had contributed to the disease, the Borough remained available to
be sued and her employment with the Borough came to an end only
fairly recently. Mrs Bradford instructed Andrew Morgan to appeal
against that rejection.
Andrew argued that the exposure had occurred when Mrs Bradford
was employed by ILEA in a Wandsworth school and that when she moved
to a school in Lambeth she was still employed by ILEA. By the time
she was employed by Lambeth the asbestos exposure had ceased.
Therefore, the only “relevant employer” under the terms of the 1979
Act was the ILEA and the ILEA ceased to exist in 1986, when it was
abolished by the Government of the day. Andrew argued that since
there was no “relevant employer” Mrs Bradford was entitled to a
payment and the appeal succeeded.
At the same time, Andrew pursued the claim for compensation
against the employer. A claim was initially made to the London
Borough of Wandsworth, which now has responsibility for the school
where Mrs Bradford was exposed to asbestos. They stated that
responsibility lay with either the London Pension Fund Authority
(as successor to ILEA) or Lambeth Borough Council, who employed Mrs
Bradford when the ILEA was abolished. Eventually solicitors for
Lambeth Borough Council took over conduct of the Defence and set
about their enquiries. They disclosed a number of “knowledge”
documents, in particular, but were awaiting the outcome of a number
of test cases elsewhere involving claims by teachers before
deciding what attitude to adopt.
Andrew was able to procure an offer of £90,000 compensation
which, after negotiation, was increased to £100,000, which Mrs
Bradford was happy to accept.
For further information or if you have an mesothelioma compensation claim call Andrew Morgan on
020 7861 4036 or email andrew.morgan@ffw.com.
You can discuss your mesothelioma
compensation claim with any member of our mesothelioma claims team on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.