PCB Exposure

PCB Exposure

Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors – No win no fee PCB Exposure Claims

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic organic chemicals which comprise as many as 209 different chlorinated compounds.

Launched in 1929, they are mainly found in old electrical equipment, plastics, rubber products, paints and dyes, and hydraulic plant.

PCBs were banned in the UK in 1986, having been banned in the US in 1979 – but are still found in some products dating from before the ban, including insulation and caulking, fluorescent lights, oils, transformers and adhesives.

In the UK, older plant and equipment in factories and industrial sites – as well as refrigerators, lighting and transformers – may still emit PCBs.

PCB exposure can be released in the manufacturing process – or as a result of leaks into the atmosphere or soil, often as a result of PCBs from landfill sites or waste recycling sites.

Because PCBs enter the soil and watercourses, they can also enter the food chain and PCB exposure has been linked to:

• Acne
• Cancer
• Endocrine disorders (pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal gland)
• Immune system impairment
• Liver damage
• Nervous system disorders
• Reproductive problems.

PCBs may also affect cognitive function such as memory – and infants exposed to PCBs in the womb or through breast milk may also develop more slowly or have a predisposition to acne.

Employers have a duty to make sure employees are not exposed to PCBs at work – and to advise employees of the risks, as well as providing safety equipment to prevent PCB exposure in the workplace and any medical tests needed.

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors can advise workers who have been diagnosed with an industrial disease linked to PCBs on how to make a no win no fee PCB exposure compensation claim.

Making a Claim for PCB Exposure at Work

Workers who have been diagnosed with diseases caused by exposure to PCBs have three years from the date of diagnosis which to make a no win no fee compensation claim, if an employer has failed to protect a worker from exposure to PCBs in the workplace – or failed to advise a worker of the risks under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors can also help with tracing the insurers of a former employer using the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) and records held at Companies House. Even if an employer is no longer in business or a company was taken over a former employer’s business, it is still possible to trace the Employers' Liability (EL) insurer to make a claim for PCB exposure compensation.

Duncan Lewis can also advise bereaved families whose loved one has lost their life from work-related exposure to PCBs – or was diagnosed at post-mortem with a condition caused by exposure to PCBs at work – on how to make a no win no fee compensation claim.

Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors – No win no fee PCB Exposure Compensation Claims

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors are leading firm of no win no fee lawyers and can advise victims of industrial diseases and their families on how to make compensation claims for PCB exposure.

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors employ medical experts in industrial diseases if it is necessary to prove a link between a claimant’s employment and being diagnosed with a condition caused by exposure to PCBs at work.

Because of the limitation period for making claims for PCB exposure, Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors advise claimants to get in touch as soon as possible after diagnosis of industrial disease caused by exposure to PCBs to discuss making a compensation claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee PCB Exposure Compensation Claims call Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors on 020 7923 4020.