Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Pneumoconiosis
If you or a member of your family is suffering from pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to asbestos or other hazardous substances at work, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.
What is Pneumoconiosis?
What Causes Pneumoconiosis?
Types of Pneumoconiosis
Making a Compensation Claim
Pneumoconiosis Compensation
Specialist Industrial Disease Solicitors
What is Pneumoconiosis?
The term pneumoconiosis refers to several industrial diseases (including asbestosis and coal workers pneumoconiosis amongst others, as below) caused by the inhalation of certain dust particles. Sufferers experience debilitating respiratory problems including decreased lung function, breathlessness and chest pain, due to damage and scarring in the lungs.
Generally, pneumoconiosis presents a number of years, even decades, after exposure to dust and it is usually the result of long term exposure.
What Causes Pneumoconiosis?
There are various causes of pneumoconiosis, including exposure to asbestos fibres, coal dust, fine dusts, powders, chemicals, talcs and silica over long periods.
Therefore, most cases of pneumoconiosis are work-related and many sufferers have been employed in industries such as mining, construction and shipbuilding. For this reason there is a higher incidence of pneumoconiosis in men than in women, as historically they are more likely to have been employed in 'at risk' occupations.
The dust particles cause inflammation in the lungs, which in turn causes fibrosis. This results in the tissues becoming thicker and less elastic, making it more difficult for the sufferer to breathe.
Types of Pneumoconiosis
There are several common forms of pneumoconiosis, which are:
• Asbestosis – As the name suggests, this disease is caused by exposure to asbestos. This was heavily used in the past in industries such as shipbuilding, train carriage construction, lagging and insulation, power stations, boiler room maintenance and pipework installation and repairs, electrical work, carpentry, car manufacture and building construction.
• Byssinosis - Mainly affecting textile workers, byssinosis is caused by exposure to cotton dust or dusts from other vegetable fibres such as sisal, flax or hemp in poorly ventilated environments. It is a chronic condition with asthma-like symptoms.
• Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis – Primarily caused by the inhalation of coal, soot or graphite dust, this condition mostly affects those employed or formerly employed in coal related industries.
• Kaolin Pneumoconiosis – Also known as China Clay Pneumoconiosis, this condition is different from other forms of Pneumoconiosis, as it often does not cause any major breathing difficulty. It mostly affects those employed in the ceramics industry, although has also been known to be caused by work in the cosmetics or paper industries.
• Siderosis of the Lung – The proper term for welders’ lung, mostly affects those employed as metalworkers or fabricators. The cause is the inhalation of iron particles.
• Silicosis – Silica is a naturally occurring mineral, found in various types of rock, including clay, granite and sandstone. Silicosis commonly affects those working with stone, ceramics and glass.
Making a Compensation Claim
These type of diseases do not show themselves quickly after exposure. They can take many years to develop. By then the person you need to make a compensation claim against (perhaps an employer) may no longer be alive or in business. Pursuing these claims is complicated and is best dealt with by an experienced personal injury lawyer.
In every case, medical evidence will be required. Detailed expert evidence is often also required in disease cases to show that the condition suffered by a claimant was caused by exposure to a particular substance.
In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person 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.
Pneumoconiosis Compensation
There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things that you used to be able to do before (eg wash your car, look after your garden, hobbies etc). 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 is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to your industrial disease, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the pneumoconiosis had never developed.
It may also be possible to claim certain Government benefits if you are suffering from pneumoconiosis.
Specialist Industrial Disease Solicitors
The Legal Line personal injury lawyers are experts in the field of industrial disease, with extensive experience in pneumoconiosis claims. They can offer advice, guidance and assistance to those suffering from pneumoconiosis and their families.
If you believe that you may be entitled to claim, our lawyers could help you to bring a claim for compensation against those responsible.
For details of some of the pneumoconiosis claims we have successfully made on behalf of our clients, visit our news and client stories sections or follow the links below:
Silicosis Compensation Claim for Former Foundry Worker
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