Personal Injury

Asbestos in schools- Are they insured?

The killer dust asbestos is said to be present in the majority of British state schools. Figures are not available for independent schools and academies, but must also be high.

Most local authorities cannot obtain insurance cover for claims relating to asbestos exposure of pupils and non-employees. Employer’s liability insurance should cover the claims relating to the employees at the school but what about pupils and visitors at the school? Because the local authorities are self insured they would be able to pay out compensation, although this would obviously put a strain on taxpayer’s money.

But what about schools outside local authority control such as independent schools and academies? Assuming they too will have difficulty obtaining insurance against the risk of asbestos exposure, any future claims for injuries and illnesses arising out of asbestos exposure at these schools may not be possible, if for example the school has closed down

This issue came to light after a science experiment went wrong causing an explosion at St Mary’s primary school in Kintbury, Berkshire in April 2011. As a result of this explosion, dust fell from the ceiling and that dust was found to contain asbestos. Pupils were evacuated from the school while specialist cleaners spent the weekend removing asbestos dust.

A parent of one of the pupils at the school subsequently made a Freedom Of Information request regarding the insurance this school had for asbestos exposure. The response was confirmation that the school did not have insurance for asbestos exposure and the reason was that it was simply not available for non-employees.

With councils being self-insured, there would still be someone to foot the bill where asbestos exposure at British State schools subsequently causes illness or death of its victim. However, this is not the case with an independent school. Shouldn’t a solution be found for this potential future problem? What about an Indemnity Fund that all independent schools and academies have to pay into, specifically set up for uninsured risks? Would they be able to find the funds for this?

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