MOD faces toxic air claims

In an article published on 29 May 2024, The Times reports that serving and former pilots and air crew are allegedly dying of cancer after being unwittingly being exposed to toxic exhaust fumes pumped out by British Military Helicopters (“MOD face cancer legal action over helicopter crew “dying from fumes”).

The scope of the actions

The claims centre around allegations that the engine jet efflux gasses containing benzyne carcinogens were being sucked through the cabin and out again through the cockpits, mixing with the air which everyone aboard was breathing.

Models of helicopter affected are alleged to include Sea King, Wessex, Puma and Chinook, with The Times reporting that the government knew of the dangers of the Sea King’s exhaust as far back as 1999, yet it is alleged they continued to allow air crew to fly in the helicopters without safety precautions. Louisa Donaghy, Senior Associate and Steven Horsley of Hugh James solicitors, the firm representing dozens of families, say that the MOD chose not to make the air crew aware and (they):

“Did not provide Personal Protective Equipment, did not modify the aircraft by moving the exhaust and did not take it out of service until 2018”.

The Times revealed that nearly forty of those affected are in the process of suing the MOD with the number expected to double over the coming weeks. Five former service personnel are reported to have received out of court settlements already.

The claimants have developed differing cancers to include Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, lung cancer, throat cancer and testicular cancer, with many diagnosed in their thirties and forties – decades earlier than expected.

Commentary

As highlighted in the recent Court of Appeal case of Holmes v Poeton Holdings Limited, 22 November 2023, for the claimants to succeed in their legal action, it will be necessary for them to establish not only generic medical causation – that benzyne is capable of causing the type of cancer diagnosed - but also individual causation: that the levels of exposure in the individual cases had caused their conditions or that the defendant’s breach had made a material contribution.

These claims are separate to the “aero toxicity” test cases against several airlines involving pilots and cabin crew who claim to have been exposed to contaminated air which has resulted in a variety of different conditions, some compromising employment.