Asbestos Diseases

Asbestos Claims

Cancer

Pleural Plaques

Pleural Thickening

Mesothelioma

• Compensation
  
• Symptoms
  
• Treatment
  
• Solicitors
  

Asbestosis

• Damages
  
• Lawyer
  

Anyone who contracts an asbestos-related condition should contact a mesothelioma or asbestosis solicitor as they may be eligible for compensation. The lawyer will help the sufferer discover when and how their exposure to asbestos took place. They can then assess whether there is a strong case for compensation. This initial advice service is provided over the phone without charge.

Inhaling or swallowing asbestos fibres can cause a number of different health problems some of which can be extremely serious or terminal. This mineral has been banned in the UK for a number of years and the law also protects people against exposure from existing sources through unsafe working practices that put them in contact with these dangerous materials such as when it is used in roofs.

Exposure can cause a scarring of the lungs that leads to breathing problems and heart failure. This scarring, sometimes called a fibrosis, can be a major cause of heart disease. The fibrosis becomes apparent in symptoms of breathlessness, coughing and weight-loss.

Exposure can also cause a rare type of cancer that can be extremely difficult to treat. This is partly because the cancer affects either the lining of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen causing a tumour to form very close to the patient’s vital organs.

The risk of developing these problems is increased by prolonged exposure to asbestos. There are a minority of cases where patients have no recollection of having been exposed to asbestos.

The damage done by asbestos is usually not apparent for a considerable time and diagnosis often occurs between fifteen to forty years after the patient was initially exposed to asbestos. Due to this, there has been a rise in cases of asbestos related disease over the last decade even though all of the dangerous products have been outlawed since the 1980s.

In recent years the cancer has become less rare with as many as 2000-3000 cases being diagnosed a year. These are mostly cases of people being exposed to asbestos when it was being most widely used in the UK in the period following the end of the Second World War, after 1945. It is thought that these incidents will continue to increase until 2018, when they will begin to decline.

The time lapse between exposure and diagnosis means that the process of fighting these cases is very different from claims against employers or organisations for personal injury. It is crucial to have advantage of a mesothelioma or asbestosis solicitor who is experienced in dealing with these claims.

It is not only those who have been directly exposed who are at risk of these diseases. There have been a number of cases which have proved that the fibres can be carried in clothing. As a result anyone in close contact with someone who has been exposed, such as the family of a construction worker who is exposed, is at risk of developing these conditions.

We are a national network of specialist personal injury solicitors with extensive experience of asbestos related disease compensation claims using the no win no fee scheme. Damages are paid in full with no deductions and our claim service is completely risk free. For free advice just complete the contact form and a member of The Law Society panel of personal injury experts will telephone you with no obligation.