Nurse wins £350k after developing latex allergy

A nurse who developed a life-threatening allergy to latex while working at
two hospitals in Swansea has won more than £350,000 in damages.

Alison Dugmore was forced to give up nursing in December 1997 after she
suffered a series of anaphylactic attacks after using latex gloves coated with
corn powder.

Lawyers argued that her case against Morriston Hospital NHS Trust and
Swansea NHS Trust could now "open the floodgates" to more claims.

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The case has been described by union Unison, which represented her, as
"ground breaking", because it now means employers are strictly liable
to ensure employees are protected from harmful substances such as latex.

Dugmore first reported a problem in 1993, when she was working at the
Singleton Hospital in Swansea. She suffered her first anaphylactic shock in
1996, and following another attack in 1997, she was forced to leave work.