Agnew v Scott Lithgow Ltd (No2), 2003 SC 448
Citation: Agnew v Scott Lithgow Ltd (No2), 2003 SC 448
Rule of thumb: When does liability for industrial diseases start? It starts from when the safety measures to be introduced are reported in mainstream industry journals – they then have a period of advice & adjustment before liability for introducing them starts – it also expected that smaller companies will take longer to introduce the cutting edge standards.
Judgment:
‘Taking, as we must, this pursuer in his particular circumstances, the question we have to address is whether on an objective basis it would have been reasonably practicable for him to become aware of the relevant facts before June 1996. We are not persuaded that the pursuer ought to have taken expert advice by the time he gave up working in the shipyards at the end of September 1995. He had then had symptoms for about 13 years and there was, on the evidence, nothing new or urgent about these at the time. We consider however that the pursuer ought to have been aware that he should make enquiry about his position once he heard talk from his former colleagues about making claims arising out of having contracted VWF’.
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.