Claiming Compensation For An Industrial Illness

Claiming Compensation For An Industrial Illness

For those people who are employed in industry will often be exposed to substances or materials which are harmful to health and which can result in very serious illness. In most cases these harmful substances do not appear to cause any immediate damage, but they can accumulate in the employee's tissue over time and can result in medical conditions arising in the future.

Asbestos, for example, had long been known to be a hazardous material which can cause serious health problems if inhaled, but for many years the majority of employers failed to take these risks into consideration. Many people who worked in the construction or manufacturing industry were exposed to large quantities of asbestos on a daily basis over extended periods of time. Employers should have recognised that this was an unacceptable risk and should have implemented changes to working practices which would have reduced the amount of asbestos dust in the air as well as providing employees with protective equipment. Many years later, employees who had worked in these industries began to suffer with irreversible respiratory problems and in extreme cases they developed lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Employers have a duty to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees and they should provide adequate safety equipment. If they fail to comply with this duty, employers will be acting negligently and may be liable to pay the employee compensation for any personal injury which that results.

Under the Limitation Act 1980, personal injury claims which are based on an allegation of negligence can only be brought within 3 years of the alleged negligent behaviour. However, where it is not readily apparent that the negligent behaviour has resulted in any damage, this three year time period can be suspended. Time only begins to run for the purposes of the limitation act once the injured party becomes aware that they have suffered some injury. This means that in cases where the exposure to a hazardous substance results in a disease or condition developing years later, the claimant must make a personal injury claim within 3 years of becoming aware of the condition. This is a highly specialised area of law and the question of when time starts running under the limitation act can result in a complicated and detailed consideration of evidence which will need to be dealt with by the court at a preliminary hearing.

If you have developed a medical condition which may have resulted from exposure to hazardous materials as part of your job you should take immediate steps to find out whether you have a valid claim by consulting a solicitor who specialises in this area. There is no need for you to have completed your claim before the three years specified under the limitation act expire - in order to stop time running you only need to have filed your claim with a court, a solicitor can help you to do this as a matter of priority to then buy some time to consider the merits of the case properly.

POST COMMENT

Secrets Revealed: How To Make Your Own Electricity! Survive summers with Air Conditioning Surrey Best portable air conditioners Digital Timer - You Must Need To Use A Digital Timer In Your Kitchen! Know Here Why? Industrial Price Index of Materials on the Rise You Will Get Tax Credit for Electric Golf Carts- Report Mounts and stands for Touch screen Digital signage DIY Home Electricity Generation - 3 Ways To Make Your Own Electricity At Home Magnetic Flywheel Generator - Generate Kilowatts Of Your Own Electricity For Free About Western Digital Elements 2TB - Does the Volume Suggest a Good quality Also? Generate Your Own Electricity Goodman High Efficiency Central Air Conditioning system Which Digital Multimeter Suits You