Our industrial disease solicitors secured over £60,000 for a welder who developed occupational asthma after repeated exposure to harmful fumes. His employer denied liability but we were able to settle before the case went to court.
Our client worked as a welder and in the course of his job was regularly exposed to fumes from the welding, galvanising, and de-galvanising processes. He wasn’t given proper protective clothing and the building didn’t have adequate ventilation or extraction.
As a result of this, he developed asthma, which affected his health and general quality of life. It also damaged his employment prospects.
We worked with experts in this area of health and safety to show what his employer should have done to prevent this occupational illness. The employer had failed to provide the right protective equipment, failed to do a risk assessment for hazardous substances, and should have improved the process to protect workers much sooner than they eventually did.
They also failed to make sure the building’s ventilation was up to standard, meaning their workers were unnecessarily exposed to high amounts of harmful fumes.
Our client’s employer, however, denied responsibility. They said they hadn’t been negligent in their duty and claimed that the asthma was not caused by the work environment.
Despite this, they made an offer of compensation before the case went to court. Our client received £63,000, which will help cover the cost of any treatment they need, as well as covering earnings lost as a result of the asthma.
Alex Shorey, an expert solicitor in workplace illness claims, represented the client.
He said: "Employers have a duty of care towards their employees. This is especially important when people are working in high risk environments with hazardous substances. We’re very pleased to have been able to secure this compensation for our client, who developed occupational asthma through no fault of his own. We hope this will encourage other employers to make sure the right checks are in place and to provide their employees with the proper equipment."
If you or a loved one has developed asthma or another illness as a result of your working environment, our workplace illness solicitors could help you claim compensation.
Call today on 0800 056 4110 – or use our online form and we’ll call you back.
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