Claimant solicitor slams Corby Borough Council for failing to insure against losing landmark environmental claim
The solicitor representing the successful claimants in a multi-million personal injury claim against Corby Borough Council has sharply criticised the council for failing to take out insurance to protect it against the cost of losing the case, amid claims that its legal bill will amount to several million pounds.
The claim, brought by 19 young people against Corby Borough Council for birth defects resulting from the council's alleged failure to adequately clean up the site of a former steelworks on which a housing estate was built, was settled on Friday (16th April). The council has agreed to pay undisclosed sums in compensation to the victims, although it has not admitted liability.
Solicitor Des Collins told the BBC's Inside Out programme: "They conducted this litigation without putting in place any insurance to cover adverse costs. Then when they lost, they complain to the residents that they're facing a huge bill. They could have avoided this by insuring it. They should have done - they were negligent not to."
In response, the chief executive of Corby Borough Council, Chris Mallender, said that the council had been confident it had a good chance of winning the case and that the cost of legal action and any possible settlement had to be weighed against the cost of an insurance premium.
"The stakes are really high, and potentially we're looking at a sum in excess of £10m.” he said. “Do we try and cover our risk, or do we go in on the basis that we have a high probability of success? And we went in on the basis that we had a high probability of success. It's easy now with hindsight to say clearly you were wrongly advised or you took the wrong decision and maybe that's the case, and it may be that Des Collins' team acted wisely in taking out their own indemnity insurance."
In July, the High Court found that the council had been negligent in failing to adequately clean up the former British Steel plant in the 1980s and 1990s, with the result that dangerous toxins were released into the air. However, the council was granted leave to appeal against this decision in January this year.
Following the High Court decision in July 2009, the council adopted a “twin-track” approach to the case, applying for leave to appeal at the same time as entering into mediation with the claimants and their families. The council told Local Government Lawyer: “It has always been the Council's intention to mediate. This decision was agreed in a Special Full Council meeting on 18th August 2009.”
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