Work Diseases

Work Diseases

Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease Claims Solicitors – No win no fee Work Disease Claims

Under health and safety regulations, workers are required to report any industrial diseases or occupational diseases they develop – including conditions relating to repetitive working practices and diseases affecting the internal organs, such as cancers, respiratory diseases and neurological diseases.

Regulation 8 of RIDDOR requires workers and self-employed contractors to report the following occupational diseases – known as “diagnosable reportable diseases”:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – caused by frequent use of percussive or vibrating tools at work
• Cramp of the hand or forearm – caused by prolonged periods of repetitive movement of the fingers, hand or arm at work
• Occupational dermatitis – caused by significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitiser or irritant
• Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) Syndrome – caused by frequent use of percussive or vibrating tools – or holding materials subject to percussive processes – or processes causing vibration
• Occupational asthma – caused by significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitiser
• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis – caused by physically demanding and/or frequent, repetitive movements affecting the hand and forearm.

As well as physical conditions, workers are protected from exposure to hazardous substances – which may cause cancers, neurological damage and organ damage – under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002.

Common industrial diseases which workers can make a compensation claim for include:

• Asbestosis
• Bladder cancer
• Dermatitis
• Emphysema
• Kidney cancer
• Hand arm vibration syndrome (HAV)
• Industrial poisoning
• Lung cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Siderosis.

The sort of hazardous substances, allergens and carcinogens which workers in industry may be exposed to include:

• Acid (eg sulphuric acid)
• Asbestos (eg chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthrophylite, tremolite and actinolite)
• Chemicals (eg bleach, benzene, biocides, pesticides)
• Dioxins (eg PCBs, CDDs, CDFs)
• Dust (eg cement, silica, lime, chalk, concrete)
• Fume (eg welding fume)
• Gases (eg acetylene, carbon monoxide)
• Metals (eg nickel, mercury, lead)
• Petrochemicals
• Rubber (eg Latex/NRL)
• Solvents (eg richloroethylene and dichloromethane)
• Vapours (eg paint, glue, varnish).

Employers have a legal duty to carry out risk assessments at work to protect employees from developing work diseases – as well as providing protective safety equipment and any medical checks needed.

Employers must also protect workers from injury as a result of explosions or incorrect storage of chemicals at work under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002.

Duncan Lewis industrial disease claims solicitors can advise workers who have been diagnosed with work diseases as a result of failings in health and safety at work on how to make a no win no fee work disease compensation claim.

Making a Claim for Work Diseases

Workers who have been diagnosed with work-related diseases have three years from the date of diagnosis in which to make a no win no fee compensation claim, if an employer has failed to protect a worker from the risks of developing an industrial disease – or has failed to advise a worker of the risks under health and safety regulations such as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.

Because work diseases – such as asbestosis, siderosis or work-related cancers – can take years to develop, Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease Claims Solicitors can 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 work diseases compensation.

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

Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease Claims Solicitors – No win no fee Work Diseases Compensation Claims

Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease 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 – including cases where a work-related disease or degenerative condition has been diagnosed years later.

Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease Claims Solicitors employ medical experts in industrial diseases if it is necessary to prove a link between a claimant’s employment and later being diagnosed with a work disease.

Because of the limitation period for making claims for work diseases, Duncan Lewis Industrial Disease Claims Solicitors advise claimants to get in touch as soon as possible after diagnosis of industrial disease to discuss making a compensation claim.

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