A couple who won a €2m payout in damages after they were exposed to toxic chemicals during and after the installation of spray-foam insulation in their home, have successfully defended an appeal.

The installer, Brendan McGee, trading as McGee Insulation Services, Largenreach, Downings, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, challenged the finding of negligence against him, and the size of the award.

Judge Seamus Noonan of the Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court had correctly found that Mr McGee was negligent in failing to advise Patrick and Anita Duffy that they were required to be out of the house during the spraying and for at least 24 hours afterwards.

He also said the award of compensation was not disproportionate to the "catastrophic" injuries they suffered.

The judge also severely criticised an American expert witness for Mr McGee, toxicologist Dr George Thompson, for his "absence of objectivity and impartiality" and for acting as a "partisan advocate in his efforts to discredit the claim of the plaintiffs".

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Mr Duffy, now 47, and his wife, 45, had lived with their now nine-year-old daughter, Charlie Jo, in the family home at Annagry, Co. Donegal. In January 2016, the Duffys decided to upgrade the fibreglass wool insulation in the attic with a polyurethane foam called Icynene. They contacted Mr McGee, a local contractor and supplier of Icynene, and the job was scheduled for the following month.

Anita Duffy and her daughter remained in the house on the first day while the job was done, save for a short trip out, while Mr Duffy returned at 5pm. They all slept the night in the house. When they woke, all three had respiratory symptoms. Mr and Mrs Duffy developed "debilitating" Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS), diagnosed by Professor Conor Burke.

Images: Stock images of people using spray insulation (Getty)