The son of a late Caerphilly man has said a High Court ruling to allow his father’s compensation claim against British Coal to be heard is a “step forward”.
William Jones died with respiratory disease in December 2014 after working in coke oven plants since 1951.
He retired from Nantgarw plant in 1985 after the Miners’ Strike.
Before his death Mr Jones was part of a group claim against British Coal, involving 199 former South Wales workers, after hundreds of workers suffered illness following exposure to dust and fumes.
The High Court today, July 28, ruled that the group compensation case by former National Coal Board workers can go ahead.
Mr Williams’ son Berwyn, also of Caerphilly, worked in coke oven plants and cared for his father until his death.
He said: “My father worked in the plants for 30 years and in the 1950s they didn’t have any protection, not even overalls.
“He was exposed to dust and fumes without any respiratory protection, until racal helmets were introduced in the 1980s.
William suffered from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic bronchitis.
He had a productive cough when he was working at the coke ovens and his health deteriorated rapidly after he finished working there.
Law firms Hugh James and Irwin Mitchell argued for the High Court to accept their application for a group litigation case involving 350 workers.
Their decision will allow the claims to be considered as a group with a number of clients chosen as test cases for the litigation.
It is alleged that British Coal and their subsidiaries, Coal Products and National Smokeless Fuels failed to identify the risks associated with exposure to dust and fumes.
As a result, it is alleged, they did not implement protective measures to prevent workers’ exposure to the harmful dust and fumes when working around, or on, the coking ovens.
Kathryn Singh, Partner and expert in industrial illness claims at Hugh James solicitors said before the hearing: “The Group Litigation Order hearing will be an important step in helping former British Coal employees and their families to secure justice for the ill health they suffered as a result of working at these plants.
“These illnesses have been caused by the negligence of employers in failing to provide safe working conditions, for which many people in South Wales are now paying the price.
“There are also a number of people in Wales who worked at various British Steel plants whose claims are being investigated, and we will be following a similar process for those in respect of seeking a court hearing date.”