Legal Expert Calls For Thorough Investigation Into Problems

A hotel in Poole has been evacuated following a ‘chemical incident’ at the Sandbanks Hotel in Poole which led to one person being hospitalised and four others needing treatment at the scene.

Emergency services who attended the scene at the exclusive hotel said the incident today (January 4th) was thought to have involved chlorine gas and liquid, while a 60-metre cordon was placed around the hotel with the surrounding road and beach closed.

Dorset Fire and Rescue has stated that the chemicals escaped from plant equipment and into the plant room and surrounding area.

Irwin Mitchell has vast experience in helping workers and the general public who have suffered illness or injury as a result of major chemical incidents, helping them to get answers over what they have endured and gain justice over their problems.

David Urpeth, a Partner at the national law firm, represented more than 70 workers and residents affected by the fire at the Killingholme refinery in 2001. Conoco-Phillips, which owned the plant, was fined £1m for breaching safety regulations in relation to the incident.

Commenting on the problems in Poole, he said: “It is welcome to see the steps which have been taken to protect guests and staff in relation to this worrying incident, but now it is vital that the cause of the problems is discovered.

“Through our work, we have seen just serious cases like this can be. In particular, incidents of this kind can leave people with long-term problems which, in some cases, they never fully recover from.

“For the sake of all of those involved, including those who needed treatment, it is vital that the hotel and safety authorities work quickly to determine what happened in this case to ensure that the same problems are not seen again.

“The wellbeing of guests and workers need to be a fundamental priority and it is vital that lessons are learned to ensure that any potential improvements in safety standards can be identified and implemented.”