Painter And Decorator Mucous Membrane Breathing Disease Claim For Exposure At Work To Harmful Chemicals
Find out in a question and answer session how you can claim compensation if you have been a painter and decorator and you suffer an allergic breathing mucous membrane disorder from constant exposure to paint and dust at work.
Industrial disease question
I have worked for 35 years in the painting & decorating have never been provided with any heath and safety protective equipment such as masks or gloves and approximately 5 years ago I attended with my GP and was diagnosed with mucous membrane which I was informed came from an allergic response to paint and dust exposure.
Can I claim industrial disease compensation.
UK industrial disease solicitor response
To prove a claim against your employer you must show three things:
1. Your employer was legally at fault or negligent
From your description of inadequate health and safety protection it seems that your employer will be found to be legally at fault.
2. You suffered an injury which was likely to be caused by this negligence
You have been diagnosed with an allergic condition which exposure to paint and dust can cause, which you have described as mucous membrane.
3. You are within time to make a claim for compensation
You only have three years from date of injury or date of knowledge of injury in the UK to make a claim for compensation. It seems that you had knowledge of your mucous membrane condition when your GP diagnosed you and your GP attached the condition to your working history. It therefore seems that you knew approximately 5 years ago that your mucous membrane condition was caused from exposure at work approximately.
Limitation might therefore have expired, but if your employer continued your exposure without providing breathing protection knowing the harm that it was doing to you, you might still have time to claim – especially if the exposure leads to a wholely different condition being diagnosed.
I recommend you speak to an industrial disease solicitor as soon as possible to go through the particular facts of your exposure to assess whether your claim might be considered.
