Every year, asbestos disease still kills many people in the UK. The absolute ban on the import and use of asbestos came into force in 1999. Yet, recent HSE statistics reveal that over 5000 deaths from asbestos-related illnesses still happen every year.

There is still a worrying amount of asbestos around. It is present in some homes built before 2000 and in schools, hospitals, and other public buildings. However, the leading cause by far of the 5000 plus deaths a year from asbestos disease is historical exposure to asbestos in the workplace.

In factories, steelworks, railway engineering sheds, docks, and other industries, workers from the 1950s through to the 1990s were getting exposed to large amounts of asbestos every day they were at work.

How long does asbestos take to develop?

The fact that asbestos only now causes workers’ to die due to exposure many years ago is due to something called the ‘latency period’. The latency period runs from when the worker got asbestos exposure to the diagnosis of asbestos disease.

The latency period can cover many years – rarely less than ten and sometimes up to fifty. Meanwhile, the sharp needle or hook-like asbestos fibres are causing untold damage to the lungs they have attached themselves.

At what age are people when they get diagnosed with asbestos disease?

The long latency period for asbestos disease means that people of advanced years form most of those diagnosed with asbestos. The British Lung Foundation website reveals that mesothelioma is most commonly diagnosed in people over 70 (although 20% of diagnoses are in those aged between 51-60). Asbestos disease solicitors who specialise in asbestos claims will vouch that their clients tend to be in their 70s or 80s when they first seek legal advice.

Can asbestos disease be cured?

The four major asbestos diseases are:

At present, there is no cure for mesothelioma. It is an aggressive illness, and life expectancy from diagnosis is 12 to 21 months. People with mesothelioma do live longer than that, but it depends on many factors, including tumour size.

If lung cancer gets diagnosed early, it might be possible to shrink the tumour and stop it from spreading. However, for most asbestos lung cancer patients, their condition is incurable. The average life expectancy for someone diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer is 16.2 months.

Asbestosis and Pleural thickening are benign conditions and are not forms of cancer. However, there is no cure for either of these asbestos illnesses because the damage asbestos exposure causes to the lungs cannot be reversed.

The outlook for patients with either pleural thickening or asbestosis can vary enormously. Treatment for both illnesses aims to make the patient’s condition more manageable. Living as healthy a lifestyle as possible, such as maintaining a good diet and not smoking, are also important.

However, the fact that asbestos exposure causes those illnesses means that there may be enough asbestos on the lungs to cause mesothelioma or lung cancer to develop in the future. It is particularly so with asbestosis, which results from extensive asbestos exposure.

Why do some asbestos disease sufferers not make asbestos claims?

Although many of those diagnosed with asbestos disease instruct solicitors to pursue compensation claims, significant numbers do not.  Sometimes this is because they may not realise they can claim.

Others may not see the point of claiming compensation, especially if they have received a diagnosis of mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. The psychological trauma of being told they have a fatal illness, particularly at such a relatively late stage of their lives, is devastating.

In addition, by the time a diagnosis gets made, they may be starting to suffer the symptoms of extreme breathlessness and fatigue associated with asbestos disease. Claiming compensation is low on their list of priorities.

What government benefits are available to asbestos disease sufferers?

Compensation for asbestos sufferers does not just come from making a civil asbestos disease compensation claim. Several ongoing state benefits or one-off lump sum payments are available for people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses. These include:

  • Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) – paid as a periodic pension each week (or month): up to a current maximum of £182 per week
  • Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payments – financial support for the loved ones who provide you with personal care: weekly allowance payment – currently £59.70 or at enhanced rate, £89.15
  • Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme (DMPS): sliding scale lump sum between £94,296 and £14 651
  • Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers Compensation) Act 1979: Lump Sum Payment based on age and level of disability
  • 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme: lump sum on a sliding scale based on age

Some of the lump sum awards are available to the dependant of an asbestos sufferer who has died. The dependant has 12 months from the death of their loved one in which to claim the lump sum awards.

Asbestos disease solicitors have a good understanding of the state benefits available to asbestos victims and their families. They are also well versed in the procedures for applying for them. If you are in the process of making a No Win No Fee asbestos disease claim through an asbestos lawyer, they will be only too pleased to help you.

No Win No Fee Asbestos Disease compensation claims

Should you be diagnosed with asbestos disease as a result of asbestos exposure at your workplace, you may be able to bring a successful asbestos disease claim against your former employer(s). The compensation you receive from making a civil compensation claim through an experienced asbestos solicitor will likely be more than you get through the government’s lump-sum payment schemes.

If you find a solicitor that will take on your asbestos claim using a No Win No Fee arrangement, it will mean that you will have no legal costs to pay if your claim does not succeed. Bridge McFarland LLP asbestos disease solicitors do not charge their asbestos disease clients a success fee when they win their case. Consequently, if you win your case and recover compensation, you will not have to pay Bridge McFarland LLP a percentage of your compensation.

How does claiming compensation help someone who suffers from asbestos disease?

  1. After the initial shock of being diagnosed with asbestos disease, the reality that life must go on hits home. There will still be bills to be paid, but now there is the problem that your recently diagnosed illness will become the focus of not only your life but of your dependents, too.
  1.  Appointing a specialist asbestos disease solicitor as soon as possible is your gateway to applying for financial assistance in the form of government asbestos-related benefits and starting an asbestos disease claim against your former employers.

Your solicitor will also become the person you turn to when you need help; fill in forms, answer the question that has been bugging you, or put your mind at rest. Your asbestos solicitor will know the steps to take and when.

  1. Any state benefits that you receive will help meet your immediate financial needs. An asbestos compensation claim against your former employer’s insurance company will take longer to settle than it will take to get state benefits (even if you have to repay those benefits when you receive your compensation).
  1. Sadly, some asbestos disease sufferers pass away from their illness before asbestos disease compensation has been recovered from their employer’s insurance company. However, most of them derive comfort from knowing their loved ones will be financially stable. It is especially the case where there is a diagnosis of mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. (There is a specialist High Court Fast Track process to try and speed mesothelioma claims through to conclusion during the mesothelioma sufferers lifetime).
  1. Some asbestos victims die before a compensation claim starts. However, in those cases, the victim was often able to appoint an asbestos lawyer and even provide a witness statement so that his dependants may continue the matter after his death.
  1. You can use compensation to provide specialist equipment to make life more comfortable for yourself. If hospital treatment is required, it is reasonable for you to claim the cost of having private treatment and recover the cost as part of the claim. Your solicitor can ask the court to make an interim payment (payment on account) to cover the cost of treatment or to alleviate any financial hardship you are suffering because of your illness.

In answer to the question, ‘How does compensation help in asbestos disease cases?’, the answer is simple. At the worst time of their lives, it gives asbestos victims some peace of mind. Sadly, nothing can bring back their health.

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