Our campaign aims to raise awareness about industrial illness, particularly in areas with heavy industry, factories and docks.
Industrial Illness is the term given to medical conditions which was sustained in the workplace, the main ones being: exposure to asbestos, vibration white finger or HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) and deafness from working in a noisy environment.
We want to ensure people who have symptoms understand what is wrong with them, and why, and also know their rights to make a claim for compensation, there millions of people in the UK suffering from these conditions who aren’t aware that they are eligible to make a claim.
We have built up one of the UK’s largest databases of employers and workplaces where staff have suffered industrial illness, as a result they have instant access to insurers information making the process of claiming much quicker.
Asbestos – Asbestos was formally regarded as a wonder substance due to its heat resistant properties. Regrettably exposure to asbestos has also caused large numbers of people to suffer from disabling and life threatening medical conditions. Since the 1930s it has been recognised that asbestos was capable of causing disease.
Despite this the wide spread use of asbestos did not cease until the 1980s and exposure to asbestos still continues whenever and wherever it is removed. Asbestos exposure causes five main medical conditions. These are Pleural Plaques, Diffuse Pleural Thickening, Asbestosis, Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma. Some of these medical conditions cause breathlessness and disability. Others can be fatal. None of these conditions occur immediately. It usually takes at least fifteen years after exposure for the conditions to materialise and for symptoms to occur. It often takes a lot longer.
As a result the Health & Safety Executive predicts that people will still be suffering from and dieing as a result of asbestos related conditions after the year 2030. Asbestos related conditions are not reserved for people who are still alive and worked with asbestos. Successful claims have also been made by:-
• Employees who worked in the vicinity of other people using asbestos
• Family members who were exposed to dust brought home on relatives clothing
• Occupiers of premises where asbestos existed or was removed
• Relatives of family members who have died from Asbestos related disease
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) – is vibration which reaches the hands whilst working with handheld power tools, hand-guided machinery, or by holding materials against a moving surface.
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is the collective term for a range of long-term injuries to arms, hands, wrists, fingers or thumbs resulting from prolonged exposure to hand transmitted vibration. Damage occurs to the circulation and nerve supply to the hands, the symptoms of which include blanching (whitening), numbness, tingling and loss of nerve function.
(VWF), the most well known form of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome or HAVS, results from damage to the blood circulatory system. Typically, fingers become white when cold and then red and painful when warmed up again.
It is estimated that around five million people are exposed to hand arm vibration (HAVS) with some two million being regularly exposed at levels where there are clear risks of developing disease.
Deafness – Noise Induced Hearing Loss – In 1963 the Government produced a document confirming that noise at work could cause hearing loss and tinnitus (noises in the ear). Since then employers have been required to assess the level of noise within their work place.
Where the noise was assessed as being excessive they have been required to take reasonable steps to reduce the noise levels. Where this has not proved possible they have been required to provide and enforce the wearing of hearing protection.
Many employers have failed to follow Government guidance relating to noise at work. As a result tens of thousands of employees have had their hearing damaged by their employment. There are many jobs which create excessive noise.
It is a popular misconception that you have to operate machinery for your hearing to be damaged. In fact a lot of Claimants with noise induced hearing loss simply worked in a noisy factory. If the noise to which you were exposed at work was so loud that you had to shout to make yourself heard then the chances are that your hearing was damaged by your employment.
You can get free advice and much more information on specific illnesses and diseases at http://www.pintopotts.co.uk
By: Simon Chapple
About the Author:
