Industrial Illness & Industrial Disease Compensation Calculator

Failure to take adequate steps towards protecting an employee’s health constitutes negligence. If you have suffered because of your employer’s negligence, you will be able to make a claim.

Types of Industrial Diseases

There are many types of industrial diseases, including:

• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS)
• Tinnitus
• Emphysema
• Chemical Poisoning
• Mesothelioma
• Dermatitis
• Occupational cancers

One of the most infamous industrial diseases is asbestosis, a chronic lung condition that is caused by inhaling asbestos fibres regularly over a period of time. Asbestos is a fibrous material that was frequently used as a construction material.

Fire-retardant, sound-proof and cheap to purchase, asbestos was favoured by builders as an alternative to other building materials. It wasn’t until decades later when thousands of tradesmen began to fall ill with lung diseases that a link between asbestos exposure and ill-health was formally recognised and the substance was ultimately banned.

Diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma (a rare form of cancer) occur when fibres of asbestos become lodged in the lung, changing cells and causing a build-up of debilitating scar tissue. Although asbestos is no longer used, it is present in many buildings and still poses a risk to health. Employers must now take adequate precautions to protect their workers from potential asbestos exposure.

Facts and figures

• Occupational lung disease is a broad term that is used to describe all forms of industrial lung diseases. Every year, more than 12,000 people in the UK die from industrial lung disease, and 18,000 more are diagnosed.
• There are more than 20,000 people living with hearing issues causing by exposure to loud noise in the workplace.
• Out of the 200,000 cases of cancer that are diagnosed in the UK every year, 5% can be attributed to exposure to carcinogens in the workplace.
• RSI is becoming increasingly common as more and more people take up desk jobs. The disease is caused by completing the same movement over and over again, putting a strain on the muscles in the wrist and arms.

I have an industrial disease – how much compensation can I claim?

If you have an industrial disease, working out how much compensation you should be paid can be a complex process. Payouts for industrial diseases vary considerably, ranging from around £3,000 for tinnitus cases to hundreds of thousands of pounds for occupational cancers and mesothelioma.

When deciding how much money you ought to be given, the court will consider the circumstances of your case carefully, assessing the severity of your illness and the impact it has had on your life. Evidence such as medical notes from a doctor will be carefully looked over.

How long do I have to make a claim?

If you have been diagnosed with an industrial disease, you will have three years from the date of your diagnosis to make a claim. Most personal injury claims have to be made within three years from the date of the incident, but this is not the case with industrial disease compensation claims. Industrial diseases typically have very long latency periods, meaning it can take decades for victims to realise they have been adversely affected by their years in work; as such, it isn’t feasible for a claim to be made until a diagnosis has been formally secured.

If you have a lost a loved one to an industrial disease such as mesothelioma, you may be able to make a claim for wrongful death. Contact our team of compassionate solicitors who will be able to guide you through the process.

Call us free now on 0800 0747 644 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon get back to you.