Industrial Disease & Environmental
12KBW is at the forefront of industrial disease and environmental litigation, and our barristers handle all types of industrial disease and environmental cases for both claimants and defendants.
Our expertise in asbestos litigation is unrivalled. Our barristers have acted in key cases such as Fairchild v Glenhaven, Barker v Corus and Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd and we continue to appear in the leading cases in this area of law, such as Bussey v Anglia Heating, Witham v Steve Hill and Head v Culver Heating. Our breadth of experience means that our barristers are instructed to handle claims involving all types of asbestos diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. Members of chambers regularly act in cases involving immunotherapy treatment for mesothelioma sufferers.
We are at the forefront of the development of industrial disease litigation. Our cases have included claims arising from neurological damage caused by exposure to paint fumes (as in Wood v Ministry of Defence) and claiming for personal injury and economic loss as a result of the development of platinum sensitivity in Greenway v Johnson Matthey. Our barristers are also involved in the cases that more broadly shape this area of law, including Coventry v Lawrence (No. 3) on the recoverability of success fees and ATE insurance, and Whitson v Secretary of State for Justice on the striking down of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to implement LASPO (non-recoverability of success fees etc.) in mesothelioma claims.
We are also regularly instructed in cases involving:
- Asthma
- Dermatitis
- Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL)
- Non-freezing cold injuries (NFCI)
- Manual handling
Our work in noise induced hearing loss and NFCI is particularly renowned in the context of claims against the Ministry of Defence. Members of chambers are involved in group actions in hearing loss and NFCI claims in this area and were involved in the deafness cases of Inglis v MOD and Barry v MOD.
12KBW are at the forefront of environmental and climate litigation, and our barristers act in disease cases arising from environmental exposures, including pollution, toxic mould and the release of hazardous substances into the environment. We are also experienced in dealing with consumer protection law in an environmental and climate law context and deal with cases involving issues relating to what the Competition and Markets Authority have termed ‘Greenwashing’.
Our barristers are similarly noted for their expertise in occupational stress claims. Our expertise in both personal injury and employment law places us in a particularly specialist position to take on workplace stress claims. 12KBW barristers were instructed in the seminal cases of Marsh v Ministry of Justice, Hatton v Sutherland, Barber v Somerset County Council, Hartman v South Essex Healthcare, and Veakins v Kier Islington.
