Chlorine gas leak - compenstion for trauma

[swimminglysad]

Name changed for this one

Myself, my partner, and my then 9 month old baby were getting ready for a baby swimming class at a public pool when unfortunately there was a major chlorine gas leak that spread through the entire venue.
Thankfully we ran out of the venue immediately and didn't suffer any physical effects besides a cough for a day or so, but the event was very traumatic at the time, and I haven't been back to a pool since. It was at a well known venue and both myself and DP actually assumed it was some sort of terrorist attack as I had no idea chlorine leaks could happen, I assumed we were exposed to a toxic gas that was going to kill us, and my baby would die in my arms. The gas was so strong we could barely catch our breath, and even some children standing outside the venue at the time needed treatment.

After the event I received a phone call from one of the managers at the venue, expressing their sympathies. I asked if there would be some kind of psychological support as I was really very traumatised at the time, but they just said that I was the first person to ask about that. I guess they didn't want to accept responsibility, and that was a way of evading the question. (I later connected to another victim who had asked the same question and was met with the same answer).

I decided to arrange counselling myself, as I needed help overcoming the experience - I was avoiding enclosed public places, becoming paranoid about safety, DC's health, and generally felt that my enjoyment of life was dialled down a notch.

I would like financial compensation to cover the counselling sessions I arranged, and also a provision for extra sessions to support our return to pools (as my DC will need to learn to swim, and I really don't want to project my anxieties onto him).

Is it possible to get financial compensation for this kind of thing?

From what I gather the council investigated the incident and is expected to release their report in March (2yrs after the event).
It doesn't help that I still don't know why the incident occurred. The venue was closed for weeks so I imagine there was a major H&S breach. I contacted the council to see if they could share details but I never heard back. I haven't had much time to pursue it until now as we've had a house move and building works.

I don't know whether it's worth going down the solicitor route, or simply contacting the venue directly. I really feel strongly that they should take responsibility. They were very very lucky it wasn't worse - it's a huge venue, I can't even imagine what would have happened if it was an event day. Or if the school kids lining up outside had actually been in the venue.

https://www.gordondeansolicitors.co.uk/emotional-distress/#:~:text=The%20distress%20caused%20must%20be,of%20amenity%27%20because%20of%20it.
The distress caused must be reasonably severe and for your claim to be successful you will have to prove that it has affected your quality of life. You must show that you have suffered a 'loss of amenity' because of it.

I think you have to weigh up how much it would cost you a) emotionally in terms of raking it all up again to go through a claim and b) financially in terms of solicitors fees if you are not successful.

I’m sorry this happened to you. It does sound frightening. This kind of thing is rare though.

If it helps, it probably happened because incorrect chemicals were accidentally mixed together. I work for a fire & rescue service and I’ve seen that more than once as a reason for chlorine release at a swimming pool. Chlorine is heavy so it can hang around.

Was this the former London Olympic pool? I remember an incident there

Yes, it seems to be something that can happen in pools in general, which isn't great for my anxiety around pools! It's a shame as I used to love swimming.

BTW, on a side note, I remember during the incident that the first responders didn't seem to have a clear idea of all of the entry/exit points of the venue. It seemed they arrived on one side of the venue (the emergency exit side), and took a while to get to the side we were on (the main entrance). I thought it was a bit strange as it's such a landmark venue. Would it have been the venue's responsibility to direct where the first responders should go? Is this something worth feeding back to the venue / the council / first responders for future?
I felt that had it been worse - eg an actual attack - those minutes it took for them to come to the other side could have made a big difference.

You would have to show the pool operator was negligent and that negligence caused the leak and that the leak caused your anxiety. These are high hurdles which (in the absence of admission of liability from the start) need expert evidence, legal advice, and could take more years to come to a conclusion.

I’m going to assume you are out of pocket by several hundreds of pounds. Your costs will run to ten times that unless you have a no win no fee solicitor, who will only take the case if they feel they can win (see above re evidential hurdles).

If you have legal cover with your home insurance it might be worth making (free) early enquiries as to the strength or otherwise of your case.

Most pools have chlorine plants, but there are a few which don't, as it's not the only way to maintain water quality, just most widespread.

I agree you need to weigh up whether it would be worth going through the stress of action or not.

It really is rare though. You were unlucky to be involved. If that helps at all.

I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what would influence how the first responders (I’m assuming firefighters for a chemical leak) would approach the building. It’s likely to be a number of factors and I wouldn’t like to tell you the wrong thing.

Was it the Olympic park? Sounds like it was a delivery gone wrong so very hard case to fight over who is liable and you would have to prove not only it's the caused of your anxiety, but that your anxiety is reasonable.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/stratford-london-aquatic-centre-chlorine-gas-leak-olympic-pool-b990291.html

I would focus on getting the help you need at the end of the day we could all be caught up on an accident or terrorist attack at some point. Worrying about how you die isn't going to help anyone. I'm a big fan of getting back on the horse ASAP so could DH force you to go swimming?

Yes it was the Olympic Park.

Could I wait until the council publishes their report in March (2yrs after the incident)? This should show what happened, who's at fault, etc. So less work for the solicitor.

The psychologist who supported me at the time has said they can provide their notes from our sessions. I'm sure family, friends, work colleagues would also be able to provide evidence of the state I was in.

On a side note, we were just starting to sleep training DC but after the incident I just couldn't bare to leave him crying. It took me another 6 months to be strong enough to tackle it. This really impacted us as he slept so badly (waking 4-6 times), and I seriously struggled when I returned to work. It was much better after the sleep training, but we could have sped things up had the incident not got in the way.

The compensation I'm asking for is not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but I feel strongly that they should take responsibility, and I shouldn't have to foot the bill to treat the anxiety they caused. If it were just me I'd let it go, but I want to treat this so I don't pass it on to my DC. (my own parents passed on enough to me!)

Even if the report does apportion “blame”
you would still need to make the connection between that and your health issues (which do sound quite extreme compared to the incident itself), and that that “damage” was a reasonably forseeable result of negligent acts.

You would need to relive this event over and over at vast expense with no guaranteed outcome. And would still be experiencing the trauma response. Kindly, you may find it more beneficial to deal with your feelings rather than take on a potentially gruelling legal action

Legal action could drag on for years, would it not be better to just try and move on?

I don't think this is a matter for compensation. You ran out of the venue immediately. You didn't come to harm.

Honestly op.. you need to let this go. You weren't physically harmed nor was your family.
You'd need to prove that your anxiety was solely proven by the event itself and wasn't underlying already
Talking about lack of sleep training etc won't be of interest to the courts .
There is also the factor that many other people would have been there that day but they weren't similarly affected as far as you know .

The amount of money you're after is relatively small. It would cost you many many times that to pursue this.

I'd honestly try and move on.

I’m a lawyer, not in personal injury, but in clinical negligence. Honestly, I would be incredibly surprised if a reputable firm agreed to take your case on. Even if you can establish liability, the costs of pursuing a claim would be likely disproportionate to the level of compensation. Your best bet is to see if you have legal expense insurance on your home insurance, if so, your insurers may be able to advise you.