Finding out that you have an asbestos-related illness is scary. However, it is important to remember that you are not alone in your struggles. According to statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive, there has been 985 newly assessed asbestosis cases since 2014 and 425 newly assessed cases of diffuse pleural thickening. It is also important to remember that the law is on your side when it comes to making a claim for asbestos compensation.
Am I Eligible for Asbestos Compensation?
There is a strict time limit in place for bringing forward a personal injury claim in the United Kingdom. That time limit is three years. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you only have three years to bring your asbestos claim forward from your Date of Knowledge, which is the date you were first diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness. So if you have been diagnosed with an illness or disease recently, we recommend that you seek legal advice sooner rather than later to avoid missing out on the compensation that you are legally entitled to.
In addition to this time limit, you must also have somebody to claim against. This can be a person, company or organisation. The vast majority of asbestos disease sufferers were exposed to asbestos at work. If this is the case, then your claim will be with the employer who employed you at the time, be them a past or present employer. However, the claim itself will actually be processed by the company’s employer’s liability insurance company, if they were indeed insured. Visit https://www.accidentadvicehelpline.co.uk/pages/asbestos-serious-illness-claim/ to find out more about this.
How much could I be owed?
The amount of compensation you could be owed for an asbestos-related illness or disease depends greatly on the illness you are suffering from. The most common illnesses associated with asbestos exposure affect the lung. They include pleural plaque, lung cancer, asbestosis, plaque on the diaphragm, and mesothelioma. The compensation awarded for these illnesses varies wildly. For example, minor cases of plaque on the diaphragm may result in a pay-out a few thousand pounds but a mesothelioma that will severely limit the lifespan of the patient can result in a pay-out exceeding £100,000.
To maximise the amount of compensation you receive, we recommend that you enlist the help of a lawyer specialising in asbestos claims. An experienced lawyer will be able to refer to past cases they have worked on to determine a proportionate pay-out. They will also have a lot of experience dealing with insurers, who are notoriously slow at processing injury claims. An experienced solicitor will demand that the other side not take too long processing your claim, so you aren’t waiting over a year to receive your financial compensation.