Asbestos and Other Industrial Disease Claims

Brachers has a dedicated, experienced team of industrial disease and occupational injury solicitors. We work on a no win, no fee basis for victims of occupational disease and asbestos disease throughout Kent, Medway, Essex and beyond. We specialise in more complex compensation claims, particularly asbestos disease and mesothelioma claims through our Asbestos Support Kent service. However, we can also deal with many other industrial disease claims including, occupational asthma claims, respiratory and lung disease claims, Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) claims, and dermatitis claims.

Recognition of our expertise

We are accredited by the Association of Personal Injuries Lawyers (APIL) and have their only accredited occupational and asbestos disease specialist in the region so you can be confident you are in the hands of a team you can trust. Our team is ranked as a leading firm in the legal directory The Legal 500 and we also support the work of Mesothelioma UK. As a no win no fee claim solicitor, our service takes any financial risk out of claiming.

How we can help with your claim

We understand how debilitating these conditions can be for both you and your loved ones, especially where, as with mesothelioma, the prognosis is terminal. As asbestos and industrial disease claims specialists we are passionate and determined to get the best result we can for our clients as quickly as possible. We will be there with you all the way helping you through your claim, standing with you and fighting your corner. We offer a full compensation claim service centred around your needs including the following.

• A free initial consultation to advise whether you have a good claim
• No win, no fee agreements to avoid any financial risk to you
• We will usually pay all legal expenses for you as the claim proceeds
• Immediate home and hospital visits offered where needed
• We will seek early interim payments and funding for treatment and rehabilitation including specialist nursing care, occupational therapy, mobility equipment, adaptations to your home to maximise your independence, buying or rent more suitable accommodation
• Assistance with industrial disease benefits applications
• Referral service to local asbestos support groups
• Access to our private client team to advise you on personal injury trusts

For more information on the process of making an asbestos or industrial disease claim with Brachers, take a look at our simple animation below.

• Mesothelioma

  Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), the tummy (peritoneal mesothelioma), heart or testicles. Unfortunately, this type of cancer is not curable, and from the date of diagnosis, victims and families have lots to deal with in a relatively short space of time.

  Our experienced lawyers will deal with each case sympathetically and promptly on a no win no fee basis and are dedicated to getting full and fair compensation as quickly as possible. We are also the only firm in the region with an APIL accredited asbestos disease specialist lawyer.

  If you or a family member has suffered an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or diffuse pleural thickening we have the experience and specialist expertise to help you through the process and meet your family’s needs – now and in the future.

  Find out more about how we can support a mesothelioma claim or book a free 30 minute consultation appointment with our team and we can advise whether you may have a claim and on the next steps to take.

  Occupational asthma/lung cancer and other respiratory disease

  Asbestos is not the only work-related cause of respiratory illness. Other substances at work can cause occupational respiratory diseases including hazardous chemicals in paint, resins, solder flux, solvents and other industrial solutions cotton dust, flour, silica in stone, the metal beryllium brick dust, coal dust, wood dust, other dust and even vegetable dusts. Such exposures can lead to an allergic reaction and occupational asthma or other respiratory diseases, including silicosis, berylliosis, rhinitis, sinusitis, byssinosis (brown lung), chronic obstructive airways disease and emphysema. There is now an established connection between high exposure to diesel fumes and lung cancer. We also specialise in these respiratory disease claims, offering a free initial consultation.

  We work on a no win no fee basis and will pay your legal expenses up front for you. Workers most at risk from occupational respiratory conditions include: welders, paint sprayers, carpenters and other construction workers, cable engineers recovering old copper cables, demolition workers, textile workers, bakers and flour confectioners, lorry drivers and transport depot employees.

  Where a chest physician confirms that a condition has been caused by exposure there will often be a good compensation claim for occupational asthma/other respiratory diseases., particularly under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations.

  If you feel that you may have a claim then book a free 30 minute consultation appointment with our team and we can advise whether you may have a claim and on the next steps to take.

  RSI/WRULD/HAVS

  We have a long successful track record with repetitive strain injuries (RSI) claims, working on a no win no fee basis. These are now commonly known as Work Related Upper Limb Disorders (WRULD).

  WRULD include Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), sometimes known as Vibration White Finger (VWF). They also include; tendonitis, tenosynovitis, golfers and tennis elbow (epicondylitis), De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, trigger finger, bursitis, sub-acromial shoulder impingement, diffuse RSI, gamekeeper’s thumb and Raynaud’s disease. These injuries can be caused by repetitive and often forceful movements of a particular part of the body. Often prolonged awkward or unnatural postures are involved. Basically the body is being used in a way that it was not naturally designed to. HAVS and VWF result from prolonged use of vibrating tools such as pneumatic drills and there are guidelines as to recommended vibration exposure which employers should follow. However, other RSIs/WRULDs can happen in a variety of jobs.

  The most common jobs causing HAVS or other RSIs are users of vibrating tools, operators of repetitive machinery, secretaries, other frequent keyboard users, accounts clerks, musicians, journalists and bank counter staff. Employers have duties to assess the risk from the work and then plan the work to prevent or reduce reasonable foreseeable risks of injury from HAVS or other RSIs.

  These claims can be more difficult to prove than most occupational disease claims and a medical expert may need the assistance of an engineer or ergonomist. You are therefore well advised to contact a specialist firm like us, who have a successful track record with HAVS and other repetitive strain injury claims.

  If you feel that you may have a claim then book a free 30 minute consultation appointment with our team and we can advise whether you may have a claim and on the next steps to take.

  Dermatitis/skin disease

  Some industrial chemicals tend to irritate the skin, leading to skin diseases, in particular dermatitis and eczema. Some individuals are more susceptible than others. Common chemical irritants which can cause dermatitis and eczema include the chemicals in latex, certain solvents and cleaning solutions. Those workers most at risk of developing skin disease, dermatitis and eczema include cleaners, healthcare workers, hairdressers, workers using or manufacturing rubber chemicals and soaps.

  Where a dermatologist confirms dermatitis or eczema has been caused or contributed to by exposure to chemicals at work fault is usually established to obtain compensation. We have experience in successfully dealing with industrial dermatitis/eczema compensation claims.

  If you feel that you may have a claim then book a free 30 minute consultation appointment with our team and we can advise whether you may have a claim and on the next steps to take.

  Deafness/noise induced hearing loss

  Industrial deafness claims can be hard to prove and we now only rarely take these cases on. Exposure to excessive noise at work commonly leads to permanent noise induced hearing loss/deafness or tinnitus (“noise in the ears”). Workers involved in traditional heavy industries are particularly at risk if employers did not take adequate precautions to reduce the noise or provide adequate hearing loss protection. If it can be established that the noise at work level was above certain action levels there may be a good hearing loss claim for any resulting noise induced hearing loss/deafness and tinnitus. This may be established by expert engineering evidence. As a rough guide if you needed to use a loud voice to be heard within about four feet, then the noise at work levels may have been excessive.

  Generally employers have been under a duty to prevent noise induced hearing loss since the early 1960s. However, stricter standards have been required since 1990. You may have suffered noise induced hearing loss/deafness from noise at work many years earlier. This is not necessarily a bar to a hearing loss claim. However, it often creates problems. The three year time limit for bringing a hearing loss claim does not start until you should have known you had suffered hearing loss/deafness due to noise at work. However you are expected to seek medical advice once you are aware of your deafness and this is where many hearing loss claims fail. Deafness and tinnitus can also be partly or fully age-related. This is another point on which these claims may fail. However, an audiogram should confirm whether the deafness or tinnitus is partly or fully due to noise at work.

  If you feel that you may have a claim then book a free 30 minute consultation appointment with our team and we can advise whether you may have a claim and on the next steps to take.

• Get in touch with our industrial disease claims solicitors

  Our industrial disease claims lawyers, based in Maidstone and Canterbury, are ready to help with any legal advice you may require so please get in touch today.

  To get started you can book a free 30 minute appointment with one of our friendly team. Alternatively, call us on 01622 690691 or fill out our online contact form.