Asbestos Lawyer Expresses Anger At Ruling

23/09/2009

The advertising industry’s regulator has upheld a complaint that a series of radio adverts about the number of people killed by asbestos were misleading.

Five adverts by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned of the dangers of asbestos exposure to tradesmen and the Advertising Standards Authority received just one complaint about them.

But the ASA said the ads led listeners to believe that six joiners, six electricians, three plumbers and 20 tradesmen died every week from asbestos-related diseases and that those figures could be misleading as they were based on estimates

As a result, the watchdog ruled that the adverts should not be broadcast again in their current form and upheld the complaint from the Asbestos Watchdog.

But Adrian Budgen, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell who has represented hundreds of asbestos victims over 20 years, expressed his anger at the ruling.

He said: "Safety has to come first and it's ridiculous that a single complaint over the number of victims will prevent this important safety message being broadcast again.

"The only fact that should matter is this - asbestos is the biggest occupational killer of all time and all workers should be aware of the dangers it poses.

"Nothing should stop that vital message getting out and preventing future victims falling prey to the dreadful diseases asbestos exposure can cause."