Frequently Asked Questions

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral from the silicate group. Its heat resistant, soundproofing, and water-resistant properties, allied to its versatility, made it a hugely popular material across a wide range of industries from the late 1880s to the 1970s and 1980s. There were three main types of asbestos used in the UK:

• Blue Asbestos (Crocidolite).
• Brown Asbestos (Amosite).
• White Asbestos (Chrysotile).

Blue and brown asbestos were the most dangerous and were banned from use or import into the UK in 1985.

Chrysotile, white asbestos, was still used mainly in the construction industry until it, too, was banned in 1999.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

Asbestos is made of microscopic-sized fibres. It is often said that asbestos products, when left alone, will not cause harm to anyone. The dangers to health asbestos poses are triggered when asbestos is disturbed. Working with asbestos ‘disturbs’ the asbestos product. Its fibres crumble, turn to dust and become airborne. Anyone nearby inevitably inhales the fibre-containing dust particles, which settle on the person’s lungs, where they remain and cause damage, later manifesting as asbestos-related disease. Asbestos is most commonly disturbed when it is worked ‘on’ or worked ‘with’. Most people with asbestos disease were exposed to asbestos in a work setting. This is why asbestos diseases are classified as Industrial Diseases or Occupational Diseases.

How much asbestos is dangerous?

There is no safe amount of asbestos you can inhale before it causes harm. There is a control limit in the UK that refers to the concentration of asbestos on average in a given area over a four-hour period. The control limit is set at 0.1%, which suggests that if the local concentration of asbestos is lower than that limit, you are unlikely to be at risk of asbestos exposure. Since this can only be determined by scientific means, the safest course of action when in the vicinity of asbestos that has been disturbed is to assume the presence of asbestos and stay clear of the area.

Will one single exposure to asbestos cause asbestos disease?

As mentioned elsewhere, there is no such thing as a safe amount of asbestos exposure. However, it is unlikely a single exposure to asbestos will be enough to cause asbestos disease. Asbestosis, asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma are usually caused by prolonged exposure to significant amounts of asbestos and even the often less severe Pleural Thickening is caused by repeat episodes of exposure. Hence, the way people tend to get an asbestos disease is from working with asbestos in the workplace.

There are always exceptions that prove the rule, and these are most likely to be when someone is subjected to one-off exposure to an abnormally high level of asbestos. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it is believed that both emergency workers and nearby residents, who were all showered in dust and debris from the atrocity, may be at risk of developing asbestos disease. Incidents of such high levels of asbestos becoming airborne are, thankfully, extremely rare.

What are the main types of asbestos disease?

There are four main types of asbestos disease:

Mesothelioma, Asbestos Lung Cancer, Asbestosis and Pleural Thickening. Pleural Plaques is a generally harmless condition caused by asbestos exposure. It is not a disease.

You can learn much more about the different types of asbestos disease by visiting our website’s Asbestos-Related Diseases page.

What is the latency period in relation to asbestos disease?

Throughout the Asbestos Awareness website pages, you will repeatedly see references to the phrase, ‘the latency period’.

It is essential to understand what this term means. Many industrial diseases take years to develop. Asbestos disease is no exception, and the latency period is the reason we are still seeing over 5000 people a year dying from asbestos disease in the UK, even though asbestos was banned before the turn of the 21st Century.

The latency period refers to the years between exposure to asbestos and the development of asbestos disease, i.e., when symptoms start to appear.

The duration of the latency period for asbestos victims varies, depending on the type of disease involved, the length of asbestos exposure and the levels of asbestos exposure. Using a broad brush approach, the latency period in asbestos disease cases lasts ten to fifty years.

What are the first signs of asbestos disease?

The early signs of asbestos disease are fairly generic. However, some symptoms are almost always present, and these are:

• Feeling increasingly breathless.
• A dry cough that won’t go away.
• Chest pain.

We go into more detail about the symptoms of each individual asbestos disease in the Asbestos-Related Diseases section of our website.

What are the health effects of asbestos?

The health effects of asbestos are now well documented: breathing in asbestos fibres, particularly over a long period of time, can lead to asbestos disease, which is incurable.

Will a mask be enough to protect me from asbestos exposure?

A simple dust mask will not protect you from asbestos exposure. Asbestos fibres are minute and will not be filtered out by dust masks. Asbestos handling is now tightly controlled in the UK by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Asbestos can only be dealt with by licenced contractors using full respiratory equipment.

Can you get asbestos disease from washing clothes containing asbestos dust?

Yes. Even modern-day washing machines are unlikely to be able to remove asbestos fibres from clothes covered in asbestos. Still, they will cause asbestos to become airborne and put those nearby at risk of getting asbestos exposure. Those involved in the safe removal of asbestos from buildings in the modern era wear full protective Hazmat suits, which will be safely cleansed in accordance with the tight restrictions now in force in relation to asbestos.

Many family members who washed their loved one’s overalls after they returned from work covered in asbestos sadly got exposed to asbestos as a result. You will learn more about asbestos disease caused by washing asbestos-laden clothes in our article called Women and Asbestos Disease.

I’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition. Can I make a compensation claim?

Yes, in many cases, you will be able to make an asbestos claim. If you have developed asbestos disease as a result of exposure to asbestos during the course of your work, even if the exposure took place a long time ago, you would have reasonable prospects of bringing a successful claim against your former employers.

Asbestos claims are also possible if your asbestos illness was caused by exposure to asbestos as a result of washing the clothes of a loved one, which were covered in asbestos.

Some people exposed to asbestos because they lived close to factories where asbestos products were produced, and they got exposed to asbestos dust clouds that seeped out of the factories, may also have valid claims.

How do I start a compensation claim after being diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition?

Contact a specialist and experienced asbestos disease solicitor. Asbestos disease compensation claims can be complex cases to deal with and should be dealt with by someone who regularly acts for asbestos disease clients.

The success or failure of your asbestos claim may depend on how well your solicitor deals with your claim. At Asbestos Awareness, our specialist asbestos solicitors have successfully dealt with claims on behalf of countless clients and have the necessary experience and resources to deal with every aspect of your claim.

To speak to an asbestos claims solicitor call us on 0800 987 8809.

How much will it cost me to make an asbestos compensation claim?

Most of the asbestos compensation claims dealt with by our asbestos lawyers are funded by inviting clients to enter into a Conditional Fee Agreement, better known as a No Win No Fee agreement. In short, having the benefit of a No Win No Fee asbestos claim means you will have no legal fees to pay if your claim is unsuccessful. Therefore, you can appoint an asbestos solicitor without worrying about whether you’ll have to pay legal fees should your claim not be won.

Our asbestos solicitors will be pleased to explain more about how No Win No Fee asbestos claims work. You can call them now on 0800 987 8809 or email them at enquiries@bmcf.co.uk to arrange a free and informal discussion about what is meant by a No Win No Fee claim or anything else you need to know about asbestos claims.

How long will my asbestos compensation claim take to process?

The parties to an asbestos claim, judges who deal with asbestos claims, medico-legal experts and others involved in the court process are very much aware that time is of the essence in asbestos claims.

Sadly, this is because once diagnosed, many asbestos victims may only have a short life expectancy. Where instructions are taken from a living asbestos victim, every effort is made to conclude their claim as soon as possible on the best terms. This doesn’t mean that corners are cut, or claims are undervalued, but that all parties would like to see the claim concluded before the claimant dies from their illness.

In fact, because once diagnosed the life expectancy for mesothelioma patients is short – sometimes only a matter of 6–12 months, there is a special ‘High Court Fast Track Process for Living Mesothelioma Claims’, which aims to settle living mesothelioma claims within a matter of months from the claim being started. Learn more about the Fast Track Mesothelioma scheme on our dedicated Mesothelioma Claims page.

Overall, across all types of asbestos disease, the average claim takes approximately 18 months to conclude, although some claims may take several years to finalise.

If the company I worked for has ceased trading, can I still make an asbestos compensation claim?

Yes, in most cases, you can.

An asbestos claim can only start when the victim has been diagnosed with a recognised asbestos disease. Asbestos exposure takes place many years before the symptoms of asbestos illness appear. We may be talking decades between the two events. Many former employers whose negligence or breach of duty of care caused their employees to be exposed to asbestos have gone out of business by the time an asbestos sufferer is in a position to start an asbestos claim.

However, as long as there was an employer’s liability insurance policy in place at the time the claimant was exposed to asbestos, then the insurer at the time, or their successor, will be obliged to meet any subsequent claim as long as court proceedings are issued. Specialist asbestos disease solicitors have access to registers and databases that will help identify the correct details of the former employer and, even more importantly, the details of the insurance company.

If neither insurer nor the employer’s company details can be found, even after an extensive effort by your asbestos solicitor to find the details, then unfortunately, the claim will fail.

Can I make a compensation claim on behalf of someone who has died from asbestos disease?

If your loved one dies without making an asbestos claim, or after a claim was started but not completed, it is possible to continue with or start an asbestos claim as is appropriate in the circumstances.

If a claim is to be started after the death of the asbestos victim and the deceased left a Will, the executors named will start the claim on behalf of the named beneficiaries.

If the deceased left no Will but died intestate, the rules on intestacy set out who can bring an asbestos claim. We discuss this topic in detail on our page, ‘Asbestos Claims on Behalf of Deceased Family Members’.

Should I make an asbestos claim?

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos disease and your former employer, or another party, was to blame for your being exposed to asbestos, you have every right to claim. We believe that you should. Any asbestos compensation you win at court, or earlier by agreement, will help make your life more comfortable at a difficult time.

Equally, the compensation you receive will mean your family will be much more financially secure after you are gone. Knowing that will give you peace of mind.

It is essential, too, that the wrongs of the past should be put right, in so far as money is able to go some way to achieving that goal.

Is asbestosis the generic name for asbestos disease?

No, it isn’t, although you will often see it wrongly being used as such. Asbestosis is one of the asbestos illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos, along with mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, and pleural thickening.

You can find out more about the disease of asbestosis by visiting our dedicated asbestosis page on the Asbestos Awareness website.

To discuss making an asbestos compensation claim, please complete the form below to receive an email or a phone call from us.