When could I make a claim for COPD and emphysema?
If your COPD was caused as a result of negligence by a former employer, you might be able to claim compensation. For instance, if your job involved working with the dust or fumes of harmful substances and your employer didn’t provide you with adequate protection to stop you from inhaling it, you may have a case.
If you’ve lost a loved one from COPD because of negligence they suffered at work, you could claim on their behalf.
How can COPD affect me and my family?
COPD is a life-limiting disease. It’s the name used for a group of lung conditions that make it harder to breathe. These include emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
COPD can have a significant impact on you and those around you. COPD causes breathlessness, especially when exercising. The more severe your COPD is, the easier it is for you to get out of breath doing even the simplest of tasks.
It can cause recurring chest infections and a very bad cough. As COPD progresses, sufferers often become more dependent on their loved ones.
COPD can be distressing for the sufferer as it limits what they can do each day. It can also be draining and distressing for loved ones who need to dedicate more and more time to caring for them.
What can compensation pay for?
Compensation is normally paid to reflect the pain and suffering you’ve experienced because of your illness or injury. It can be used to cover the cost of any medical care or specialist equipment you might need to make your life easier.
"Special damages" can also be awarded to make up for any loss of earnings you’ve suffered due to your COPD. For instance, you may have needed time off work. It may be that you had to give up your job altogether.
What happens when I make a claim?
When you make a COPD claim with us, the first thing we’ll do is to identify any former employers who might be responsible for your illness and notify them of the claim being brought. If any of those employers are no longer trading, we will seek to identify their former insurers, who remain responsible for settling any successful claim on their behalf.
Those employers will be given an opportunity to make an early admission and to settle your claim. If that doesn’t happen, then we will work with you to prove your case and get you the right result.
Aside from fighting to get you the compensation you’re due, we’ll refer you to our Support and Rehabilitation team. They’ll advise you on any specialist care or treatment you could benefit from.
Why choose us to handle your COPD or emphysema claim?
We have some of the most renowned personal injury lawyers in the UK. We’ve worked on many COPD and emphysema claims and met many sufferers of these dreadful diseases. This has given us an exceptional insight into how debilitating COPD can be, as well as how much it can affect those around you. It’s made us even more determined to get our clients the biggest possible settlement, helping to make your life as comfortable as possible.
Don’t just take our word for our expertise. The Legal 500, one of the UK’s leading independent legal guides, consistently reviews our Personal Injury team with glowing feedback. They’ve called our personal injury specialists: “A wonderful team with strength in depth from partner to paralegal and a dedication to their clients, consistently going above and beyond to get the best results possible.”
Chambers and Partners, another leading legal guide, ranks several of our Personal Injury lawyers as among the best in the country. Chambers and Partners comment: "It is a full-service firm, and clients receive good value due to the experience and expertise of the teams on offer."
We don’t just fight to get you the money you’re due, we make sure you get the care you need in the meantime. Our Support and Rehabilitation team are clinical specialists who’ll help you to access any support you might need. They’ll assess the treatment and support you would benefit from and help you to get it.
We’ve connections with charities, support groups, and local care providers throughout the UK. This means that, no matter where you are in the country, you can access help that’s local to you.
We have offices all over the UK , meaning you’re within easy reach of our legal experts. If it’s difficult for you to travel, we can visit you in hospital or at home instead. If you’d rather, we can also speak via telephone, video call, or email.
We’ll also be able to assist you in setting up a personal injury trust . This makes sure any compensation you receive doesn’t get considered when claiming for means-tested benefits.
