Industrial Disease Claim: The types of occupational disease which give rise to compensation claims from UK employers together with a description of how such conditions are developed
Industrial disease claim solicitor sets out the types of personal injuries which can form part of your industrial injury claim in the UK, including what the most common types of medical condition are and how they are caused.
What is an industrial disease claim?
“Industrial disease” is the name given to a whole range of injuries, diseases or conditions received in the workplace that are normally caused over a period of time through exposure to harmful materials (such as asbestos) or defective work practices (such as those leading to repetitive strain injuries).
Occupational Injury Compensation Claims
Other names sometimes used for “industrial disease” include “industrial injury” or more recently “occupational disease”.
The word “industrial” is used as many diseases were discovered in the manufacturing industry – where new materials, such as asbestos, were processed for the first time leading to unexpected health problems for a large number of industrial workers.
The word “occupational” is used in more recent times to show that the disease is developed during your “job” or “occupation”.
If it can be shown that your employer or former employer was legally at fault for your injury you could be entitled to claim compensation.
An industrial disease claim is therefore a claim for compensation for injury caused by hazardous exposure at work over an extended period of time (often the exposure will have taken place many years ago).
Please note – if your former employer is no longer in business there is still a good chance you would have an industrial disease claim. Solicitors can trace the identity of past employer’s liability insurance (in place when you were working) that would still have liability for a business that no longer trades.
What are the different types of industrial disease and how are they caused?
There are many different recognised types of industrial disease claims for compensation – the name of the disease often comes from the material or process that caused it, such as:
1. Asbestosis – lung disease caused from breathing in asbestos fibres or particles at work.
Click asbestos compensation claim for a full description of asbestosis
Click asbestos compensation to find out how much you can claim for asbestosis.
2. Asbestos Mesothelioma – a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibres at work.
Click asbestos compensation claim for a description of mesothelioma.
Click asbestos compensation to see how much money you can claim for mesothelioma.
3. Silicosis – lung disease caused from inhaling silica or quartz dust in the workplace.
Click silicosis claim for a description of silicosis industrial lung disease and how it is caused.
4. Repetitive strain injury – a physical condition in your upper body caused from the excessive continuous repetition of certain tasks normally involving your hands.
Click repetitive strain injury for a full description of workplace RSI.
Click RSI compensation to find out how much compensation you can claim for a repetitive strain injury
5. Industrial deafness – a hearing problem caused from exposure to excessive noise, such as loud machinery, in the workplace.
Click industrial deafness claim for a full description of occupational hearing loss.
Click industrial deafness to find our how much compensation you can claim for noise induced hearing loss in the UK workplace.
6. Vibration white finger/ VWF – a physical condition caused from the use of vibrating machinery in the workplace.
Click symptoms of VWF for typical symptoms of VWF or vibration white finger compensation amounts to see how compensation payments for vibration white finger are calculated.
7. Industrial dermatitis
Click industrial dermatitis claim to read the page I have written giving a full description of occupational dermatitis and how it is caused.
8. Occupational asthma
Click occupational asthma to see the page I have written describing occupational asthma and how it is caused in the work place.
9. Occupational stress
Click occupational stress to read the article I have written describing how stress is caused in the workplace.
Industrial Disease Claims Summary
You now know the most common types of industrial disease you can claim compensation for in the UK and how they differ to other types of injury at work.
As soon as you become aware that you are suffering from an industrial disease it is important you take steps to ensure your employer is aware of your injury and you receive the correct medical treatment, so I recommend you:
Click occupational injury claim to find out what you should do before making a workplace industrial disease claim.
