Nearly £1 million in personal injury compensation has been paid out to 79 former MG Rover employees.
Personal injury claim compensation ranged from as little as £500 to as much as £180,000 across the 79 former workers. All of them banded together in order to make their injury claims for occupational asthma.
Compensation awarded to the workers ranged from £500 up to £180,000 following what was believed to be one of the world’s biggest outbreaks of occupational lung disease.
The seventy nine former employees were all based at Birmingham’s engineering plant, located in Longbridge. They were all employed by Powertrain Ltd, MG Rover’s former engine manufacturing division.
An investigation was conducted by the Health and Safety Executive of the facilities. The HSE found that bacteria and other harmful substances had formed within the manufacturing plant. The bacteria was caused by an unacceptable level of build up of certain metal working fluids that were used in the course of the plant’s production process.
The HSE remarked that the series of incidents at the MG Rover plant had led to one of the largest known occupational asthma outbreaks caused by metal working fluids worldwide.
A large number of workers developed respiratory problems from breathing in mist thrown off by the machines. A large number of these employees developed asthma. Others began to suffer from lung inflammation brought about by inhaling organic dust. The condition is referred to as extrinsic allergic alveolitis.
The seventy nine former employees had been battling for seven long years with MG Rover. The company had been vigorously denying liability up until very recently. Finally after a protracted negotiation process they reached an out of court settlement with the injured former workers.
When given the opportunity to comment, a UNITE spokesman took the time to express how delighted the union was at the settlement.