If you have received a diagnosis for an asbestos-related disease in the last three years, you may be eligible to make an asbestos claim for compensation. Furthermore, family members could claim on behalf of a loved one who has died of a disease such as mesothelioma or lung cancer due to asbestos exposure.
If you are looking into starting a claim, please call us on 0800 6524 881. You won’t be under any obligation but our advisors will review your situation and supply free advice. Where a claim looks to have strong grounds, we could refer you to a personal injury solicitor. If you’re accepted as a client, your claim will be processed on a No Win No Fee basis. That will make the asbestos claims process less stressful as you’ll only need to pay for the solicitor’s work if you are compensated.
Please continue reading to find out more. Once you’re finished, feel free to call us with any questions.
Table of contents
Am I Eligible To Make An Asbestos Compensation Claim?
To be eligible to make an asbestos compensation claim, you’ll generally need to show that:
- You have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace or elsewhere due to somebody else’s negligence; and
- Your illness has been caused as a direct result of asbestos exposure.
- Your illness has been diagnosed in the last three years.
If you’d like advice on your eligibility to claim asbestos compensation, please call our claims advisors today.
Can I Claim If The Employer Is No Longer Trading?
Asbestos claims can sometimes be brought against an insurance company representing a business that has ceased trading. Where this is not possible, it may be possible to claim compensation from a government-operated scheme if you’ve been diagnosed with asbestosis.
Common Asbestos-Related Diseases And Illnesses
As mentioned before, you might be compensated for an asbestos-related disease if it’s been caused by your employer’s negligence. Therefore, we’ve provided some information about those diseases here:
- Mesothelioma. A form of cancer linked to asbestos that covers the lining of the lungs and other organs. According to the NHS, around 2,700 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the UK.
- Asbestosis. This is a serious lung problem that affects those who were exposed to asbestos over a long period. It can result in scarring of the lungs along with symptoms like wheezing, fatigue, a persistent cough, shortness of breath and swollen fingertips.
- Lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the most serious forms of cancer. Each year, around 47,000 people are diagnosed with it but these aren’t all down to asbestos exposure. Symptoms include coughing up blood, pains when coughing, persistent breathlessness, and unexplained weight loss.
- Pleural thickening. The pleural membrane covers your lungs and the inside of your rib cage. In healthy people, it is about as thick as a balloon. Scarring of the pleural membrane can cause it to thicken. Because of the thickening, the lungs may not expand as far as normal. As a result, symptoms such as breathlessness might be experienced.
If you would like to know more about claiming compensation for any of these asbestos-related diseases, please contact our claims advisors.
How Much Compensation For Asbestos Exposure?
It is difficult to say how much compensation for an asbestos-related disease each claimant will get because each case is different. Compensation payouts are generally based on the extent of your disease and how it affects you now and in the future. Usually, asbestos claims are split into two types of damages. They are:
- General damages. This part concentrates on the pain and suffering caused by your disease, both physically and psychologically. It also takes into account loss of amenity.
- Special damages. In this part of the claim, you’ll look at what expenses or costs have been caused by the disease. This might involve claiming for care costs, medical expenses, travel costs, modifications to your home and any lost income.
Importantly, the value of any claim might vary depending on how the claim is processed. For example, you may receive a different settlement amount when claiming through a government-operated scheme rather than through your employer’s insurance policy. To find out what your claim might be worth, contact our team today.
Calculating Asbestos Compensation Payout Amounts
In this section, we have listed some specific compensation payout amounts for diseases caused by asbestos exposure.
The data we have used is based upon the Judicial College Guidelines as this is how solicitors and insurers can calculate and determine settlement amounts. Certain conditions will determine what compensation amount is received such as how progressive are the symptoms, how has/will the claimant’s quality of life be impacted, and so forth.
- £77,680 to £139,680 compensation for mesothelioma.
- £85,460 to £118,790 compensation for lung cancer.
- £43,320 to £129,170 compensation for serious asbestosis & plural thickening.
- £18,430 to £43,320 compensation for less serious asbestosis & plural thickening.
Again, each asbestos compensation claim is unique, therefore please take these figures as guidance and remember that any compensation you might receive could be paid at a different rate.
Time Limits For Claiming Asbestos Compensation
As you might know, personal injury claims are usually subject to time limits. For asbestos claims, you will usually have 3 years to start court proceedings from the point when it became clear that you had suffered an asbestos-related illness. If you are making an asbestos claim after the death of a loved one, the 3-year period will usually run from the date of death, although a later date of knowledge may apply in some cases.
Asbestos-related diseases can take decades to develop. This means a claim may still be possible even if:
- You cannot remember exactly when you were exposed to asbestos.
- The employer’s business no longer exists; or
- You were not directly employed by the business you believe exposed you.
Our recommendation is to start the asbestos claims process as soon as possible. By doing so, you should give your solicitor the utmost time to properly investigate how you were made ill and who was responsible. The process of claiming might seem complex but our team of solicitors have been helping clients for many years. Please call us today if you’d like to know more about your options.
Using A Personal Injury Solicitor To File An Asbestos Claim
There’s no denying that a lot of work is involved in asbestos claims. Not only are you looking at something that may have happened decades ago, but you might be trying to claim against a company that doesn’t exist any more. If that’s the case, you may need to claim through a government-backed scheme. If you fail to make your claim correctly, or within the specified time limits, you could miss out on any compensation you’re due.
For that reason, we believe it’s best to take on specialist legal representation. If one of our solicitors takes on your claim, they’ll review your case in detail with you. They do this to make sure that the claim is directed at the correct defendant and that all aspects of your illness are considered.
So that you don’t need to deal with legal or medical questioning, your solicitor will control all communication. They will let you know how things are going regularly and you can ask them questions where needed. Where there are doubts raised about liability for your illness by the defendant’s insurer, your solicitor will provide extra evidence to try and counter them.
Starting The Asbestos Claims Process
If you would like to start an asbestos claim for yourself or somebody who has died because of asbestos exposure, please call our team today on 0800 6524 881. Your case will be reviewed by a specialist on a no-obligation basis. If you have the grounds to proceed, they could forward your claim to a No Win No Fee solicitor from our team.
Thank you for reading our guide to asbestos claims and please contact us today with any questions or concerns.