Print this page

Toxic Gases - Technicians receive €1.5m award

Two lab technicians who suffered injuries after inhaling a "cocktail of chemicals" from noxious fumes have been awarded €1.5m in the High Court.

Anne Connelly (50), from Westmeath, and Patricia Egan (49), from Offally, inhaled the noxious fumes whilst working as lab technicians at the Athlone Institute of Technology. Both women sued the Institute for damages as a result of the exposure. The women, who now suffer from stress and various respiratory illnesses, received the award in the High Court following a ten-year legal battle.

The noxious fumes from chemicals being used in the laboratory were not ventilated properly and the fumes came back into the lab where both women were working through the air conditioning system.

The case was before Mr Justice Paul Gilligan for assessment of damages yesterday. Both women were awarded compensation for loss of earnings and pension along with general damages. The judge said that he had received over 50 medical reports in the cases of the two women.

Ms Connelly was awarded a total of €802,452. The judge said that he was satisfied that she suffered inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract, nose, throat and lungs. She has to take inhalers three or four times per week. The judge said that Ms Connelly has been unable to work with chemicals but was fit to return to a clean environment since July 1999.

The judge was satisfied that Ms Connelly has developed a stress-related psychosomatic condition due to her anxiety about alleged or perceived chemical poisoning of her body. He said that Ms Connelly believes that she had been chemically poisoned and her life has according been ruined.

Mr Justice Gilligan awarded a total of €754,537 to Ms Egan, who suffered respiratory damage but had made a substantial recovery. Nonetheless, he accepted the medical evidence that she has stress and anxiety related to her strong belief that she had been chemically poisoned.

Seeking Health Law Advice

For further information and advice regarding your legal rights and entitlements, please contact Malcomson Law by calling 01 8744422 or complete an Online Enquiry Form. Your enquiry will be forwarded to a solicitor who specialises in Medical Negligence.

This news section contains stories of interest from publicly available news sources. Where we are representing the clients referred to in the news material we will say so. Where we do not represent individuals or bodies mentioned or quoted, the inclusion of the news story in our news section is not intended nor should it be taken to imply that we act for the individual or body concerned.