Industrial Disease Compensation Claims

Yes, if your work-related illness was caused by your employer’s failure in their duty of care to you.

The first step is to contact us for a free initial consultation to understand how we work, including no win no fee claims, and if you want to proceed. If you do, we’ll begin by gathering evidence to support your claim – this includes employment and medical records and a medical examination.

Then we’ll contact your employer to get an early admission of responsibility. If they accept, we’ll work to get you interim payments – they can pay for ongoing travel and medical expenses and make up for any loss of earnings. They’re paid ahead of your claim being settles and are taken out of the final amount you’re awarded.

If they won’t accept responsibility or disagree with the amount of compensation we think you need, we’ll begin court proceedings. In many cases, claims are still settled out of court even if trial dates have been set. We’ll always keep you updated, making the process as simple as possible.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers have a duty of care to protect you from illness and injury while you’re at work.

If you become ill or injured through doing your job, they’ve failed in their duty of care. Common ways this happens is when your employer doesn’t:

• Carry out a risk assessment
• Offer adequate break periods
• Offer proper training, such as equipment training
• Provide the right personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Limit exposure to toxic substances as much as possible

If your employer has failed in their duty of care towards you and you’ve developed an industrial disease, contact us to make a claim.

To make an industrial disease claim, you have three years from the date you discovered your illness was linked to your work. This time limit may be shorter if your illness occurred while you were working abroad.

If you’re claiming on behalf of a loved one who passed away, you have three years from the date of their death or the date you received the post-mortem results.

The sooner you contact us, the easier it’ll be to gather evidence and begin the claims process.

As each industrial disease claim is unique and the term covers a broad range of illnesses, it’s hard to predict how much compensation you’re eligible for. It’ll depend on:

• Your pain and suffering
• The illness you developed
• The severity of your illness
• Any mobility aids you may need
• Your medical and travel expenses
• Any current and future loss of earnings
• Your current and future care and support needs
• If you’ve needed any modifications to your home.

To get a more accurate idea of how much compensation you could get from an industrial disease claim, contact us today.

If your loved one left a valid Will, the executors appointed by that Will can bring a claim on behalf of their estate. If your loved one died intestate (without a valid Will), there are certain family members who are entitled to act as the administrator of their estate.

There is an order of priority to act as an administrator, which is dependent on the relationship with the deceased. The executor or administrator is also known as the personal representative.

The personal representative effectively makes the claim on behalf of your loved, taking into account the following:

• Loss of earnings
• Care and support
• Medical expenses
• Their pain and suffering.

Any compensation awarded will be distributed according to their Will or the intestacy rules.

If you were dependent on the person who died, financially or for services, you may have a claim in your own right. However, in most circumstances, this type of claim is made by the deceased’s personal representatives at the same time as the claim on behalf of the deceased’s estate.

We know accessing the right support after the loss of a loved one can feel complicated. Find out how we can help you by reading our bereavement guide.

This is very unlikely. In fact, there are legal safeguards in place to protect you from unfair dismissal.

In any case, if you make an industrial disease claim against your employer, any compensation awarded is likely to be paid by their insurer.

Our industrial disease solicitors can explain your rights and the claim process in more detail.