The family of a Moray science teacher who lost her life after contracting a deadly cancer have failed in a legal bid to win compensation from her two former employers.
Relatives of Sarah Kerr sued Moray and Midlothian Councils at the Court of Session alleging that she contracted abdominal mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos during her teaching career.
Mrs Kerr taught at Dalkeith and St David’s High School in Midlothian and Buckie High School between July 1983 to November 2003.
Mrs Kerr – who was in Buckie from late 1985 until June 1990 and again between 1992 and 1995 – fell ill with the condition in 2022 and died in June 2022.
Teacher regularly handled asbestos heat mats
Lawyers for her widower Alasdair, of Gullane, East Lothian, told the court that his late wife was exposed to the dangerous substances in the classroom.
She regularly handled “asbestos heat mats” and flexible wire gauzes when Bunsen burners were being used.
Mr Kerr gave evidence of conversations he had with his wife during her teaching career.
He told the court of how Mrs Kerr would speak of “asbestos mats, gauzes, and dusty equipment and cupboards” at her school in Dalkeith in the 1980s.
He said she spoke of how her clothing was “dirty and dusty” and how she regularly threw her clothes away.
The court heard that conditions in Buckie High School caused her frustration over the state of the equipment.
Mr Kerr said it was a “standing joke” that her clothes did not last for long.
Council’s lawyers argued no negligence was proved
Mr Kerr’s lawyers argued that their client should be awarded damages on the basis that the two councils should have been “aware of a significant risk of asbestos-related injury arising from her duties.”
Lawyers for Midlothian Council told the Court of Session that Mr Kerr’s legal team failed to prove the extent of any exposure that his late wife sustained through her work in school.
They also argued that Mr Kerr’s lawyers had failed to prove any negligence on the part of the local authority and that any exposure to the substance caused Mrs Kerr’s illness.
The court also heard that by 1999, it was probable that Mrs Kerr was using asbestos-free equipment as instructions to remove items containing asbestos had been in place since the 1970s.
In a written judgement published by the court on Friday, Lord Malcolm upheld the submissions made to him by lawyers acting for the local authorities.
He wrote: “For the above reasons decree will be pronounced absolving Mrs Kerr’s employers from any liability in damages for her very sad demise.”
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