Air Pollution

Jocelyn Cockburn, a Partner in our team, has represented the family of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who died on 15 February 2013 from asthma, aged nine, for over seven years. Ella lived only 25 metres from the highly polluted South Circular Road in London. For three years between 2010 and 2013 she suffered a series of asthma attacks that led to regular hospitalisation. The first inquest did not investigate what had triggered her asthma. This led the family to approach Jocelyn to explore whether there was a link between her episodes of ill health and her exposure to air pollution. A petition signed by 177,363 people called for a second inquest into her death. In 2019, the High Court ordered that there should be a second inquest into Ella’s death that should investigate whether air pollution had contributed to her death. On 18 December 2020, following a second inquest, the coroner ruled that “Air pollution was a significant contributory factor to both the induction and exacerbation of her asthma” and concluded “Ella died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution”. At a press conference following the verdict, Ella’s mother, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah reflected on her daughter’s life and the impact the verdict would have on other children around the world.