Source: Telegraph >> Read full article and comment
Children born with birth defects which resulted from the botched decontamination of a steelworks will receive compensation totalling millions of pounds after a council dropped its legal fight.
Corby Borough Council agreed an out of court settlement almost a year after the High Court ruled it was negligent in the way it dismantled a steelworks and disposed of toxic waste.
That led to a “statistically significant” cluster of birth defects between 1989 and 1999, including clubbed feet, shortened arms and missing fingers, found Mr Justice Akenhead.
Lawyers had argued that the mothers of 16 children had been left exposed to “an atmospheric soup of toxic materials” while pregnant, because of the council’s mistakes. They included the loads of trucks carrying away contaminated waste not being fastened shut.
Despite the High Court decision, at the time the council said it would fight the ruling.
But yesterday it agreed to drop its challenge.
In a joint statement with the families’ solicitors, the council announced it had reached a final, binding agreement with 19 youngsters, included three not originally included. Negotiations had gone on for weeks.
The contract forbids disclosure of the financial arrangement. … Continue reading
