Harmful substances in the environment

At Clear Answers you will have claim advice from lawyers who, we believe, acted successfully in the most significant recent claim concerning legislation about illness from chemicals in the work environment.

If you are unlucky enough to suffer illness, disease or injury as a result of something in the environment, it is possible that you may have a claim.

If this occurs at work, there are a number of regulations which can apply, for example the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 - please see our industrial disease pages. We believe these cases are now a lot easier to succeed in since our landmark breakthrough case Dugmore v Swansea NHS Trust (2003)

Substances such as asbestos and many others are well known hazards. Any illness which arises at work should be reported to the employers, be the subject of medical and other investigation and lawyers consulted to see what the prospects are of bringing legal action for damages.

Outside work

If the exposure arises outside the workplace, the position is likely to be more complicated. Examples of environmental exposure include industrial waste pumped into the environment whether it be the sea, the rivers, the air; or where there are leaks of chemical or radioactive waste ; in cases of noise pollution, and so on.

If you are unlucky enough to suffer an illness, disease or injury as a result of any such circumstance, it is possible that you may be able to bring a claim for damages, otherwise known as compensation.

There are various potential grounds for establishing a right to compensation, each dependent on the type of exposure; and in each type of case detailed evidence will be necessary to establish that the substance is capable of causing your injury, that it did in fact cause your injury, that there was a foreseeable risk of such injury occurring, and that the person or body responsible was negligent or in breach of statutory duty in allowing or causing the leak or discharge to occur.

If you believe that you are suffering an illness, disease or injury as a result of something in the environment, always keep any evidence to support the exposure, make sure that you seek medical advice and that your treating doctors are made aware of your belief/suspicion of the cause and keep details of all doctors visited and treatments, and for any injury related expenses.

Clear Answers lawyers are experts in all aspects of personal injury work and in how to pursue claims for damages. They will be able to advise you whether a claim for damages is possible, give guidance and assistance on how the claim can be pursued and ensure that all the correct evidence is obtained to secure the best result for you.

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. Telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.