Keith Patten investigates the possibility of seeking PI damages from a parent company
First instance decisions of trial judges do not normally call for much in the way of comment, for the obvious reason that they establish no precedent. Every now and then, however, such a case comes along which is important, not as a matter of precedent but as illustration of a significant point. Such a case is the recent decision of Wyn Williams J in Chandler v Cape plc [2011] EWHC 951 (QB), [2011] All ER (D) 157 (Apr). It reminds us that what is often referred to as the law of employers’ liability is, in reality, a part of the wider law of negligence.
The issue
The issue in Chandler is one which will be familiar to practitioners dealing with long tail disease claims. Chandler had been exposed to asbestos while employed by a company called Cape Building Products Limited (the employer company). His employment spanned a period from 1959–1962 and during that period the employer company had no employer’s liability insurance (such insurance did not become compulsory until 1969,
