Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Rubber Industry – Chemical Exposure and Bladder Cancer
If you are suffering from bladder cancer and believe this could be related to work in the rubber industry, you may be entitled to make an industrial disease claim for compensation.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online, for cost free advice from our expert personal injury lawyers.
Rubber Industry Health and Safety
Bladder Cancer in Rubber Industry Workers
Which Chemicals are Linked to Bladder Cancer?
Making an Industrial Disease Claim for Bladder Cancer
Bladder Cancer Compensation
Our Specialist Industrial Disease Lawyers
Rubber Industry Health and Safety
As with any type of heavy industry, the rubber industry has health and safety risks which employers need to take into careful consideration, in order to minimise the possibility of personal injury to their employees. Many of these risks are common to other manufacturing industries, for example manual handling injuries, industrial deafness from exposure to loud noise, slips, trips and falls, accidents involving machinery, or respiratory illnesses caused by dust and fumes.
In particular, some chemicals used in the manufacture of rubber products have an established link to bladder cancer. It is therefore essential that employers reduce employees’ exposure to harmful chemicals as far as reasonably possible and provide sufficient personal protective equipment where exposure cannot be avoided. Cleanliness and good ventilation within the workplace are also important in maintaining these standards.
There are regulations which employers must abide by to ensure that the air within the working environment is strictly monitored and levels of dust and fumes are kept within safe limits.
If your employer exposes you to harmful levels of chemicals and you suffer bladder cancer as a result, you may be entitled to pursue a personal injury claim for compensation.
Bladder Cancer in Rubber Industry Workers
Contact with fumes and dust from processes used in the rubber industry can be harmful and this has been linked to illnesses including bladder cancer. Smoking cigarettes can also increase the risk of contraction of bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer involves the development of a tumour or multiple tumours in the bladder, which is the muscular urinary sac. It is occasionally referred to as papilloma of the bladder.
Where it is established by the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) that the bladder cancer is a prescribed industrial disease, it is classified as PD C.23
Which Chemicals are Linked to Bladder Cancer?
Historically, rubber industry workers showed an increased risk of developing bladder cancer when compared with the general population. A chemical called Nonox S was formerly used in rubber processing, which contained beta-napthylamine, a contaminant which was found to cause bladder cancer. In 1949 Nonox S was therefore withdrawn from use and the industry subsequently saw a significant drop in the number of bladder cancer cases reported.
Unfortunately Nonox S is not the only harmful substance to have been used in the manufacture of rubber products. Studies carried out after it was withdrawn showed that there was also an increased incidence of lung and stomach cancer among rubber industry employees, which were associated with exposure to rubber dust and fumes from the vulcanising process. Since tighter regulations have been brought into force, numbers of reported lung and stomach cancer cases have also dropped.
Currently there is a chemical used as a curing agent in the manufacture of moulded polythene, called McOCA (2,2’-Dichloro-4,4’-methylene dianiline), which is known to cause bladder cancer. This chemical is harmful if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin. It is therefore essential that employers take every precaution to ensure that their employees do not have physical contact with McOCA, or any other chemical that may cause health problems.
Making an Industrial Disease Claim for Bladder Cancer
If you, or a family member, are suffering from bladder cancer caused by exposure to chemicals through work in the rubber industry, you may be able to make a claim for damages against your employer / former employer.
Anyone who has been exposed to a hazardous substance and suspects that this may have caused a personal injury or industrial disease, should seek medical advice immediately. Medical evidence is required in every personal injury case and, in disease cases, specialist expert evidence is often needed to show that the condition suffered was caused by exposure to a particular substance.
In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person or organisations you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.
If a family member has died from bladder cancer where exposure to chemicals has occurred, it may still be possible to make a compensation claim posthumously.
Bladder Cancer Compensation
There are two elements to a compensation award. The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and any loss of amenity (e.g. an inability to wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.
The second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses (known as special damages), aims to put you back in a position financially as if the bladder cancer had never developed. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to your illness so that these can be reclaimed.
In serious cases, where a person is no longer able to continue their employment, the loss of earnings can be claimed. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also be claimed if they are related to the illness. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.
In cases involving a fatality, a dependent relative such as a widow and children may be able to claim a statutory sum for their bereavement and funeral expenses. In addition sums for the loss of income and contribution to the household in the form of future losses can be claimed.
Our Specialist Industrial Disease Lawyers
At The Legal Line, our lawyers are specialised in all areas of personal injury, including claims for industrial diseases and illnesses caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals.
They are experienced in recovering compensation for the victims of bladder cancer and can provide sympathetic, expert advice and assistance in pursuing your case.
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