Breathing difficulties and other symptoms caused by lung disease can have a massive effect on your ability to function normally and, ultimately, can shorten life expectancy. Symptoms can make everyday tasks like climbing the stairs seem impossible. If you’ve been diagnosed with a lung disease that was caused by your working conditions, you might be able to claim compensation for your suffering. This guide on lung disease claims will show you how and when that might be possible.

If you’d like to discuss claiming compensation for lung disease, one of our claims advisors can help. They’ll begin by providing a free review of your claim. If they believe there’s a chance you’ll be compensated, and you’d like to proceed further, you’ll be partnered with a personal injury solicitor from our team. Their No Win No Fee service means that, if your claim is accepted, you’ll not pay legal costs unless you are paid compensation.

Please call 0800 6524 881 to speak to us right away or read on for more information on lung disease compensation claims.

What Is Lung Disease?

Lung disease is a term used to describe a group of respiratory disorders including:

Common Symptoms Of Lung Diseases

Some of the common signs of many lung diseases include:

• Breathing difficulties.
• Shortness of breath.
• A persistent cough that won’t go away.
• Feeling like you’re struggling to get enough air into your lungs.
• Bringing up mucus or blood when you cough.
• Difficulty carrying out physical activities (working, exercising etc).
• Discomfort and pain when inhaling or exhaling.

Am I Eligible To Make A Lung Disease Compensation Claim?

If you contact our solicitors to make a lung disease claim, they will check the following criteria to see if they could take on your claim:

• Did your employer fail in their duty of care towards you through negligence?; and
• Has their negligence caused your lung disease?

If both negligence and causation can be proven in your claim and it’s been less than 3 years since your lung disease diagnosis, you could be entitled to compensation for the suffering you’ve endured.

Types Of Employer Negligence That Can Lead To Lung Disease Claims

There are various types of employer negligence that could contribute to the development of lung diseases in the workplace. Some examples that could lead to a lung disease compensation claim include:

Inadequate Ventilation

Adequate ventilation is especially important in workplaces where harmful substances are present. Employers may be negligent if they’ve failed to implement proper ventilation systems such as Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) or not maintained them adequately.

Failure To Control Or Monitor Exposure

Employers should take measures to control or minimise workers’ exposure to hazardous substances. If an employer fails to implement proper safety protocols, such as the regular monitoring of air quality, conducting risk assessments, or implementing engineering controls to reduce exposure levels, they could be found negligent.

Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Employers have a responsibility to provide appropriate PPE to workers exposed to hazardous substances. If an employer fails to provide or enforce the use of respiratory protective equipment such as masks or respirators they may be found negligent if an employee develops a lung disease as a result.

Inadequate Training

Providing employees with appropriate training and information regarding the risks associated with their work environment is the employer’s responsibility. Failure to educate workers about the potential hazards and safety precautions related to lung diseases may be considered negligence.

Ignoring Health & Safety Regulations

Employers have a duty to comply with applicable health and safety regulations and standards. If employers disregard these regulations or fail to implement necessary measures to protect workers from exposure to harmful substances and an employee develops a lung disease as a result, they’d likely be found negligent.

Lack Of Health Surveillance

In certain industries where workers are at a higher risk of developing lung diseases, employers should implement health surveillance to help identify early signs of lung disease. Employers who fail to provide regular health check-ups or screenings may be found liable to pay compensation if an employee develops lung disease as a result.

If you’d like a specialist personal injury solicitor to assess your case and determine whether your employer’s negligence played a role in your lung disease, please call us on 0800 6524 881.

How Much Compensation Do You Get For Lung Disease?

For any type of lung disease, the amount of compensation you’ll be paid for any physical or psychological suffering will be determined largely by the severity of your symptoms. Your solicitor will need, therefore, to refer your case to a 3^rd party medical professional before they can provide a personalised compensation figure. But, for now, our compensation calculator (for general damages) should provide some guidance as to how much you could be awarded.

In addition to general damages for lung disease, special damages could be paid to cover other applicable costs such as:

• Medical expenses including surgery in a private hospital.
• The cost of a professional carer (or the time somebody else spends caring for you).
• Travel expenses directly related to your lung disease (fuel, parking, public transport fares etc).
• Lost income. If lung disease will mean you earn less in the long term, you could claim for future losses too.
• The cost of adapting your car or home to make space to store breathing apparatus or to make your home more accessible.

If you’d like to discuss what you could potentially claim compensation for, please don’t hesitate to use our live chat for immediate assistance.

Evidence To Support A Lung Disease Compensation Claim

Although you might have a good idea about what caused your lung disease, you’ll typically need hard evidence to help prove your claim before the defendant’s insurer will agree to pay compensation. This will need to confirm how you’ve been affected and what the defendant did wrong to make you ill.

Some examples of the types of evidence for a lung disease compensation claim your solicitor may use include:

• Your medical records. It is important that your lung disease has been diagnosed by a medical professional. Therefore, your solicitor will ask for copies of any test results and medical notes from the consultant who examined you.
• Photographs or videos. Visual evidence, such as photographs or videos of the workplace, equipment, or substances you were exposed to, can help provide a clear depiction of the conditions you experienced.
• Witness statements. Colleagues and others may be asked to provide a statement to help confirm your working conditions.
• Correspondence. If you wrote to or emailed your employer to raise concerns about your well-being, these could be used as evidence in your claim.
• Employment records. Records of your employment history, including dates of employment, job responsibilities, and details of the workplace environment where you were exposed to hazardous substances, can help establish a link between your lung disease and your job.
• Independent medical assessment. In conjunction with your medical notes, you’ll need a separate medical assessment to confirm your prognosis.
• Financial records. You will need to keep a record of any costs you’ve incurred because of your lung disease. Receipts, bank statements and other records could be used to try and recoup any losses.

If you make a lung disease claim with one of our personal injury solicitors, they’ll work hard to secure the evidence needed to try and win your claim.

Time Limits For Claiming Lung Disease Compensation

In a personal injury claim, you’ll usually have 3 years to begin the claims process starting from the date you were injured. However, for lung disease claims, it can be harder to pinpoint the date that you became ill.

Therefore, the limitation period in these cases will generally begin from the date you were diagnosed with lung disease. As it can take your solicitor some time to go through your work history and identify the cause of your illness, it’s a good idea to start your case as soon as you can.

If you are claiming because a loved one has sadly died of lung disease, you’ll have 3 years to start your claim from the date they passed away or when you found out about their death. Please refer to our fatal accident claims guide if you’d like more information.

Start The Lung Disease Compensation Claims Process

If you or a loved one is suffering from a lung disease, please call 0800 6524 881 to speak to one of our specialists. Your case will be assessed for free and we’ll explain your legal options. There’s no obligation to proceed but we could refer you to one of our personal injury solicitors if you decide to proceed.

If they take on your work-related lung disease claim, they’ll manage everything for you on a No Win No Fee basis. To clarify, that means you’ll pay a success fee if your claim is won (a maximum of 25 per cent of your settlement) but no legal fees will be charged if the claim is lost.

Our live chat team can also help advise on the lung disease claims process so please feel free to contact them.