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Asbestos-related injury compensation claims

When can you make a personal injury compensation claim?

A personal injury claim for an asbestos-related injury can be started at any time within three years of a sufferer being informed of their condition by an appropriately qualified doctor, or within three years of death. Because this time limit starts at the diagnosis of the victim's condition, rather than at the time at which the asbestos exposure occurred, it is possible to make claims relating to incidents or periods of employment dating back decades.

Please select one of the links below for more information and to see how Clear Answers may be able to help you.

What will our specialist asbestos lawyers do?
Compensation and damages for asbestos-related diseases
How compensation is assessed
Seek immediate asbestos compensation claim advice
Pleural plaques, pleural thickening, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma
Asbestos-related news stories
Why should you use Clear Answers?

What will our specialist asbestos lawyers do?

Clear Answers' lawyers specialising in asbestos-related injury claims will investigate your claim for you, and use their experience to pursue your claim in the most effective way possible.

If you have been exposed to asbestos at your place of work, it's likely that the employer bears some responsibility.

Our specialist asbestos lawyers will explore whether the company, or a responsible successor company can be found and whether there is any insurance available. This is a skilled and painstaking task, especially when many people exposed to asbestos have been employed in industries such as construction, where employment turnover is great.

Clear Answers' lawyers can even succeed in gaining compensation in some cases where it seems that the three year time limit referred to above has been missed so please seek advice even if you are not sure if this three year time limit will apply to your personal injury claim.

Claims for compensation for an asbestos-related disease can be made by either someone suffering from the disease, or by the family of someone who has died from an asbestos related disease.

Once our lawyers have established that the employer or a successor is available to claim against, they will obtain a detailed medical report for you from a medico-legal expert in this field. The purpose of this is to confirm the diagnosis of an asbestos-related injury and to prove the injury was caused by exposure during employment with that company. Once this is done, the claim can proceed.

Please visit our section on information and advice for more details on making a personal injury compensation claim.

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Compensation and damages for asbestos-related diseases

Damages for asbestos related industrial diseases are awarded by the Courts as compensation for pain, suffering, and the loss of physical amenity caused by the asbestos exposure.

It needs to be shown that, in all probability, the asbestos related disease being claimed for, developed as a result of exposure in the workplace during the time that the person claiming was employed by the company being claimed against.

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How compensation is assessed

Compensation known as general damages is awarded for pain, suffering and loss of quality of life caused by the asbestos injury.

Clear guidelines are set down for the Courts on the appropriate bracket of awards for general damages. Different levels of compensation are made for different types of asbestos-related disease, depending on a number of factors, including the duration and severity of the symptoms, the age of the sufferer and the restrictions the illness imposes on the sufferer's lifestyle.

A separate award of special damages can be made for financial losses caused by the disease to date, and likely to arise in the future. These include compensation for the equivalent cost of time spent by family members or others caring for the injured person.

In the case of special damages allowance will be made for the cost of medical treatment, aids and equipment, loss of earnings and loss of pension, and the cost of house maintenance, decorating, diy and cleaning, and any other activities which the sufferer would ordinarily have done but can no longer do because of the asbestos-related disease.

In cases where the sufferer's death is caused by an asbestos-related disease, compensation can also be obtained for the losses of certain individuals if they were financially dependant on the deceased, together with funeral costs and bereavement damages.

The calculation of the financial losses requires skill and expertise. Only solicitors experienced in handling claims for asbestos-related disease will be able to establish the full value of the claim for the sufferer or their family, and deal with the claim with the minimum of delay.

In cases for types of asbestos-related disease such as pleural thickening and asbestosis, where there is a risk that at some time in the future the condition may deteriorate, damages can be awarded either in 'full and final' settlement, or as 'provisional' damages.

In the case of 'full and final' settlement, this will include all past, present and future losses. However, an award of 'provisional' damages will allow the person making the claim to be awarded compensation for the existing medical condition, while keeping open the right to return to make a further claim in the future, should a more serious condition develop.

Clear Answers' lawyers specialising in asbestos-related diseases are able to offer further guidance on likely damages to anyone suffering from the disease, to the families of sufferers, or to anyone who suspects that they or a member of their family may be suffering from, or may have suffered from, an asbestos-related disease.

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Seek immediate asbestos compensation claim advice

Clear Answers' lawyers specialising in asbestos claims are experienced in researching, preparing and presenting claims. They will take great care in discussing your individual case with you.

The normal time limit for starting a personal injury claim for an asbestos-related injury is three years from the date of diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease. If the sufferer has died, the claim must be commenced within three years of the date of death.

Because the three-year time limit starts to run from the date when the person is informed about the diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease (or three years from the date of death in fatal cases), rather than at the time when the asbestos exposure occured, it is possible to make a claim even where the exposure to asbestos occured many decades ago.

However, once the diagnosis has been made, it is important to seek expert legal advice without delay. It is always preferable that claims for compensation for asbestos-related diseases are investigated as quickly as possible.

Clear Answers' lawyers have the expertise to deal with asbestos claims sympathetically and quickly.

If you would like to discuss whether you or your family may be able to make a personal injury claim for an asbestos-related disease, please contact Clear Answers' specialist lawyers who will be able to give you free expert legal advice.

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Pleural plaques, pleural thickening, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma

People diagnosed with Asbestos-related Pleural Plaques were previously entitled to receive provisional damages, returning to Court later if Asbestosis, mesothelioma or asbestos related lung cancer develops.

In the case of pleural plaques alone, a recent decision by the Court of Appeal indicated that compensation is no longer be payable. This decision was confirmed by the House of Lords in October 2007 when they ruled that pleural plaques do not constitute an injury and therefore people with pleural plaques are not entitled to compensation.

It is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible if you are diagnosed with an asbestos related disease. The House of Lords decision does not affect your right to seek compensation if you are suffering from a disabling asbestos related disease such as pleural thickening, asbestosis, mesothelioma or asbestos related lung cancer.

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Asbestos-related news stories

Clear Answers' asbestos solicitors deal with a large number of asbestos related and other personal injury compensation claim cases each year. Details can be seen by clicking on the links below. Alternatively, details of these and other personal injury accident compensation compensation claims can be found in our Personal Injury News Section which is updated regularly.

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March 2010
Mesothelioma compensation for victim during his lifetime

September 2009
Asbestos-related compensation for pleural thickening

June 2008

March 2008

Alimta To Be Made Available On The NHS To Aid Mesothelioma Sufferers

November 2007

Thames Water forced to pay compensation after exposing pump worker to asbestos

October 2007

House of Lords rules against claims of compensation for pleural plaques

September 2007

Renewed calls for further funding for research into Mesothelioma
Alimta research study, funded by the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, urges more volunteers to come forward

August 2007

Mesothelioma Compensation case settled within eight weeks of instruction

April 2007

Workers Memorial Day
National Asbestos Campaign

February 2007

New figures show more than 90,000 people will die from mesothelioma in the coming decades
Alimta Ruling to be Discussed in Parliament

January 2007

Teeside Widow Seeking Husbands Former Colleagues
Compensation Victory Following Asbestos Exposure

December 2006

Alimta Appeal Rejected

November 2006

Compensation Victory After Workplace Asbestos Exposure
Tragic Mesothelioma Death For Former James Bond Film Set Employee
Compensation Victory After Tragic Death From Mesothelioma
Stratford widow seeking husband's co-workers after tragic death from mesothelioma
Mesothelioma Insurance Squabble
Ford Employee Awarded £100,000 In Compensation

October 2006

Government Acts With "Compassion" On Asbestos Victims
Alimta Campaigners To Lobby Parliament
Compensation Victory For Former Yorkshire Water Employee
Strong Support For Mesothelioma Drug
Asbestos Compensation Freeze Lifted

September 2006

Asbestos Compensation Victory
Turner and Newall Asbestos Compensation Vote
Unease Over Asbestos Legal Fees
Widow In Desparate Attempt To Track Burton Based Firm Sharps Brothers And Knights

June 2006

Government Set To Restore Right To Claim Full Compensation For Mesothelioma
Did You Work With David Carter in Poole?

May 2006

Compensation Cut for Deadly Asbestos Cancer, Mesothelioma

March 2006

Insurance Companies challenge right to compensation for Mesothelioma

February 2006

Three generations from one family in Wales wiped out by Mesothelioma
Action Mesothelioma Day

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Why should you use Clear Answers?

We have a dedicated team of lawyers specialising in asbestos-related injuries who are able to offer expert claim advice in what can be very complicated personal injury claims.

They have huge experience of such claims and access to leading experts in medicine and engineering to help prove your claim.

Clear Answers' lawyers have won important decisions in the highest courts in the UK for asbestos victims and have a proven commitment to their rights.

If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Clear Answers to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for yourself. You will receive 100% of the compensation awarded. Telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.

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