Fury as Grenfell firm says some victims ‘already ill’
Court is told of residents ‘who would have died anyway’
FAMILIES of the Grenfell Tower victims are livid after a construction firm suggested some residents may have died due to ‘preexisting medical conditions’.
Saint- Gobain Corporation (SGC) made the outrageous claim in a tranche of American court papers unearthed by the Daily Mail.
The 900-page dossier reveals in shocking detail how Grenfell firms are trying to deny responsibility for the tragedy.
Among 57 defence claims, SGC stated it cannot be held liable for damage arising from ‘the direct result of pre- existing medical conditions’.
It comes as the UK public inquiry into the disaster was hit by further delays this week after construction bosses threatened to withhold crucial evidence unless they are protected from prosecution.
Giannino Gottardi, whose son Marco died in the inferno, said: ‘This is a scandal, a huge lie that makes no sense.’
The file of papers was uncovered at a US federal court in Pennsylvania.
SGC is being sued by families of 69 of the 72 killed as well as 177 survivors.
Action is also being taken against cladding producer Arconic and Whirlpool – which made the fridge-freezer that caused the blaze. Relatives are seeking damages through the American courts because all three companies operate in the US. The families allege:
■ SGC ‘knowingly falsified’ tests on insulation which ‘gave the impression it was more fire resistant than it actually was’;
■ The firm knew insulation ‘would release toxic cyanide fumes’ if it caught fire;
n■ SGC was driven by ‘corporate greed’ which ‘placed its profits over the health and safety’ of Grenfell residents.
The lawsuit could become one of the largest product liability cases in history with a payout of more than £1billion if successful.
But the court documents reveal the firms are vehemently defending any allegation of wrongdoing.
They argue the case should not be heard in America as the June 2017 tragedy was in the UK.
SGC’s ‘pre-existing conditions’ claim is a reasonably common defence in US civil lawsuits.
It is offered as an alternative scenario to what actually happened – but families argue it is an insult.
Speaking from his home on the outskirts of Venice in Italy, Mr Gottardi said: ‘These companies put profit ahead of everything, they want to save the name of the company and don’t care about anything else.’ Marco, 27, and his girlfriend Gloria Trevisan, 26, had arrived in London three months before the fire to further their architect careers.
Gloria’s father Loris said: ‘ The companies stole our two children’s lives to save themselves a small amount of money. ’
SGC, Arconic and Whirlpool are accused of 142 charges by the families – allegations they deny. SGC said it had been ‘ improperly named’ as it did not ‘design, market, manufacture, or sell’ any products implicated in the blaze.
It insists it was the firm’s British arm Saint- Gobain Construction Products UK, which owns Celotex – the maker of the flammable insulation used on Grenfell.
In the US court papers, Celotex is accused of falsifying test results on its insulation.
This week, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick was forced to adjourn the hearings for at least a fortnight.
He will ask the Attorney General for an undertaking that any evidence given by corporate witnesses will not be used to pursue criminal charges against them.