Cases of industrial disease

If you contract an industrial disease the claim is dealt with along similar lines to that of a normal accident claim in that you must demonstrate that your disease resulted from carelessness on the part of your employer or some other party. If we obtain a Medical Report which says that your illness is related to conditions at work, and we can show that your employer, or past employers, did not take proper precautions, then you have a claim.

These cases do tend to be rather complex and you can help us by listing all your previous employers and telling us what sort of work you did for each of them. It may be necessary to claim against several of your past employers as they may all have contributed to your condition. This is especially the case in claims relating to asbestos or deafness.

In claims for repetitive strain injury (RSI) it can be difficult obtaining expert medical opinion that the condition is directly related to your employment. There can be further problems in demonstrating that your working circumstances are unsuitable. It is not sufficient to show that the RSI is caused by your work; you must show carelessness by your employer — that you didn’t get sufficient breaks, spending too long at the keyboard, or that you didn’t have a suitable work position — and that it was that carelessness which caused the condition.

Time limits for industrial diseases

The same time limit applies for making claims in these cases. You have three years — starting from the date on which you became aware the disease was related to conditions at work — to bring a Court Action. There are situations when this deadline can be extended, however, and you ought always to see a lawyer in industrial diseases situations, even if you think the three year period has been exceeded.