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Today in the High Court it was heard that the National Environmental Research Council's (NERC) application to discontinue the cases of Bangladesh civilians who have suffered injuries allegedly as a result of drinking ground water contaminated with arsenic was dismissed. The main part of the NERC's submission as to why these claims could not succeed was that they owed no duty of care to the claimants.
Alexander Harris Solicitors along with Leigh Day Solicitors are jointly running the cases which relate to claims being made for damages for personal injuries suffered as a result of arsenic poisoning from drinking the ground waters in Bangladesh.
David Harris Senior Partner of Alexander Harris today said: "We are obviously very pleased with the decision handed down today by Mr. Justice Simon. The Defendant, the National Environmental Research Council is a recognised world leader in hydrochemical and hydrogeological testing and its results are widely relied upon by government agencies. In 1992, the NERC produced a report which, we allege, gave the impression that there were no significant health hazards for humans in drinking the groundwater that they had tested. As the Bangladeshi Authorities did not have the resources to adequately test the quality of drinking water themselves and in view of the standing of the NERC, they relied on the NERC report. It subsequently transpired that the groundwater contained arsenic. The NERC had neither tested for arsenic nor, having omitted arsenic from their tests, did they include a disclaimer that they had not tested for it. As a result the people of Bangladesh were allowed to continue to drink from the wells and thousands are now suffering the potentially deadly affects of arsenicosis."
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