Court upholds €2 million award to Donegal couple exposed to toxic chemicals in insulation

The Court of Appeal has upheld a €2 million award to a couple who claimed they were exposed to toxic chemicals from spray foam insulation installed in their home.

The injuries suffered by Donegal-based Patrick and Anita Duffy were very serious and life-changing, while the description of Mr Duffy’s injuries as “catastrophic” was not necessarily unfair, the three-judge court ruled.

Mr Justice Seamus Noonan said there is “perhaps no more fundamental requirement for living than the ability to breathe normally”. In this case this ability has been “severely compromised so that there is virtually no aspect of their lives that are untouched by their injuries”, he said.

Dismissing the appeal by the insulation installer, the court affirmed the High Court’s €2 million award to the Duffys, of Meenderryowern, Annagry.

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They sued Brendan McGee, trading as McGee Insulation Services, with an address at Largenreach, Downings, Letterkenny, who was responsible for the installation and the application of spray foam insulation at the family home on February 18th, 2016.

They claimed they were exposed to fumes and toxic chemicals and they, along with their young daughter, had to leave their home because they did not feel safe.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Kevin Cross came to the conclusion beyond any doubt that the Duffys sustained “life-altering serious injuries as a result of exposure to chemicals”.

The probable cause was foam injected into the roof, he found.

It was beyond reasonable doubt that the Duffys’ injuries were caused by exposure to the product sprayed by the insulation installers, he ruled.

The judge found that, on the balance of probabilities, the injuries were due to exposure to the chemical Isocyanate.

The insulation foam product itself is “essentially safe” if properly applied with the proper safeguards, he said.

However, the installer was negligent in failing to advise the Duffys they were required to leave the house during spraying and for at least two hours afterward. It was also negligent in failing to warn them of the potential risks and hazards involved if the safeguards were not followed.

Mr McGee appealed the High Court decision.

In the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Noonan said he was quite satisfied the lower court correctly concluded that Mr McGee was negligent and that his negligence caused the Duffys’ injuries.

“Mr McGee’s absolute failure to take reasonable or indeed any care for the health and safety of the Duffys inexorably follows from the judge’s unappealed findings of fact as night follows day,” Mr Justice Noonan said.

The judge did accept the figure awarded by the High Court was “on the high side” and more than the Court of Appeal might have been inclined to give, but it was not “so disproportionate” that it could be fairly described as amounting to an error of law.

Mr Justice Donald Binchy and Mr Justice Maurice Collins agreed with the judgment.