BT admits responsibility for asbestos exposure that left Norfolk engineer with incurable cancer

BT admitted liability for exposing him to asbestos during his employment, which led to the development of the disease.

The former engineer, who we have called James, worked at BT from 1988 to 2002, and for the first 10 years of his employment provided maintenance and troubleshooting support for people experiencing issues with their telephone lines.

James worked in commercial buildings with suspended ceilings, where he would access wires and cables running through the ceiling voids. He recalled seeing lagged pipework in these spaces as well as partition boards, often in a damaged state and releasing dust.

James also worked in multi-story buildings where he had to access wires and cables in riser cupboards. James remembers some of the wires in these cupboards were wrapped in a fireproof cloth, thought by his legal team to have contained asbestos.

In February 2025, James was diagnosed with mesothelioma, having been experiencing symptoms such as breathlessness and a cough in the months prior. He was aged 61 at the time of his diagnosis and had maintained an active lifestyle playing for his local cricket team, which he has now had to stop.

Following his diagnosis, James instructed Leigh Day partner Claire Spearpoint from the firm’s asbestos team to investigate a case against BT.

BT admitted liability for James’s mesothelioma and agreed a six-figure settlement. The agreement also included future support for private medical treatment.

Leigh Day partner Claire Spearpoint said:

“Mesothelioma is a devastating disease and a horrible diagnosis for anyone to receive, particularly when they should be looking forward to retirement. After working closely with James to build a picture of his employment history, it became clear that he was most likely exposed to asbestos while working as a telephone engineer for BT.

“Nobody should develop a terminal illness simply as a result of going to work and doing their job. While no settlement can change James' diagnosis, we hope this outcome provides him and his family with some financial security and peace of mind for the future.”