A constabulary which paid compensation of more than £76,000 to an officer who was lethally exposed to asbestos in the police station where he worked has failed in an attempt to make the local authority which owned the building contribute to its damages bill.

The officer had spent all his working life with the constabulary and was for many years based in a police station located within a council-owned civic centre. Following his retirement, he developed asbestos-related lung cancer. Before he succumbed to the disease, he sued the constabulary, which agreed to settle his case.

The constabulary in turn launched proceedings against the local authority, arguing that it should cover at least part of the damages. The council was said to have been negligent in failing to remove or properly isolate asbestos lagging present in the police station. However, it denied liability on the basis that it was unaware of the presence of asbestos whilst the officer was working there.

A judge stymied the constabulary's claim when he ruled that it had left it too late to sue the council. In dismissing the constabulary's challenge to that decision, the Court of Appeal found that the two-year time limit which applies to contribution claims had started to run when the settlement became binding. On that basis, the proceedings had been lodged about a month out of time.