Emphysema Compensation Claims
Emphysema Claims may be possible where harmful exposure at work caused or contributed to the condition and an employer failed to take reasonable steps to protect the worker from that exposure.
Emphysema is a long-term lung condition involving damage to the small air sacs in the lungs, known as alveoli. This damage can make it increasingly difficult for the lungs to move air effectively. Emphysema falls within chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), although the terms emphysema and COPD do not mean exactly the same thing.
Smoking is a major cause of emphysema, but occupational exposure to certain dusts, fumes and other airborne substances can also contribute to the development of COPD. Where workplace exposure is believed to have played a part, medical and occupational evidence will be needed to establish the connection.
If you have been diagnosed with emphysema and believe your current or previous work may have contributed to it, Tylers Solicitors can consider your circumstances and advise whether you may have grounds to make a claim. Call our team on 0800 699 0079.
Can I Make an Emphysema Compensation Claim?
You may be able to make an emphysema claim if exposure during your employment caused or materially contributed to your condition and there is evidence that your employer breached the duty of care owed to you.
These cases need to be assessed individually. A diagnosis of emphysema and a history of working around dust or fumes do not automatically establish employer liability. It is necessary to consider the nature and extent of the exposure, how long it continued, what your employer knew or ought reasonably to have known about the risks and what precautions were taken at the relevant time.
Medical evidence is equally important. Emphysema can have more than one potential cause, so a claim needs to establish whether occupational exposure made a material contribution to the disease. A history of smoking does not necessarily mean that workplace exposure can be disregarded, but its significance will need to be considered by the appropriate medical experts.
Industrial diseases can also develop after exposure involving several employers or many years after the relevant work took place. If you are no longer employed by the company concerned, that does not by itself prevent a claim.
The legal time limit can be particularly important with diseases that develop gradually. You should therefore seek advice as soon as you become aware that your emphysema may be connected with previous working conditions.
You can read more about claims involving occupational illnesses on our Industrial Disease Claims page.
Common Causes of Emphysema
Emphysema develops when the walls of the alveoli become damaged. Smoking is a major cause, but workplace exposure can also be relevant in some cases, particularly where a person has spent substantial periods breathing harmful dusts, fumes or other airborne contaminants.
Occupational exposure varies considerably between jobs and industries. Work involving coal or mineral dusts, certain manufacturing processes and environments where workers regularly encounter fumes or airborne contaminants may need to be investigated. The presence of a substance at work is not enough on its own to prove that it caused emphysema. The nature, concentration and duration of the exposure can all be relevant when medical causation is assessed.
Employers have duties to protect workers from substances that could damage their health. What should have been done depends on the work, the substance involved, the level of risk and the legal standards applying during the period of exposure. Appropriate controls might have involved preventing or reducing exposure at source, suitable ventilation, safe systems of work or respiratory protective equipment where necessary.
A claim may arise where reasonable precautions were not taken and the resulting exposure caused or contributed to the employee’s disease. This could include historic exposure, so the investigation may need to consider working practices from many years ago rather than judging past employment solely by today’s standards.
Emphysema is one condition that can fall within COPD Claims. The wider COPD category also covers other forms of chronic airflow obstruction, so medical evidence is important in establishing the precise condition involved and its likely causes.
Emphysema Symptoms and Evidence
Emphysema commonly causes breathlessness, particularly during physical activity. As lung function becomes more impaired, some people may find that activities they previously managed without difficulty become harder. Coughing and wheezing can also occur, although symptoms and their severity vary between individuals.
These symptoms are not specific to emphysema and cannot establish a diagnosis on their own. Anyone experiencing persistent breathing problems should seek appropriate medical assessment.
A diagnosis may involve a review of symptoms and medical history together with tests of lung function. Spirometry can be used to measure how effectively a person can breathe air out of their lungs. Imaging, including a CT scan in appropriate cases, can also provide information about changes within the lungs. The tests required will depend on the individual and are a matter for the treating medical professionals.
For an emphysema compensation claim, diagnosis is only one part of the evidence. It is also necessary to investigate what caused or contributed to the disease.
Medical experts may need to consider the person’s work history, the type and duration of occupational exposure, smoking history and other relevant factors. Their evidence can help establish whether workplace exposure made a material contribution to the emphysema and assess the severity and likely future effect of the condition.
Evidence about the workplace itself may also be important. Depending on what remains available, this can include employment records, details of the jobs undertaken, information about substances or processes encountered at work and records showing how exposure was controlled.
The effects of emphysema can overlap with other occupational respiratory conditions, but they should not be treated as interchangeable. For example, Occupational Asthma Claims concern asthma caused or aggravated by workplace exposure, which is medically distinct from emphysema even though both conditions can cause breathing difficulties.
What Could an Emphysema Compensation Claim Be Worth?
The value depends on the medical evidence, severity, prognosis and the effect the condition has on your work and everyday life.
Who May Be Liable for an Emphysema Claim?
An employer may be liable where it can be shown that they breached a duty owed to the employee and that this breach caused or materially contributed to the emphysema.
The investigation will depend heavily on when and how the exposure occurred. Workplace health and safety requirements have developed over time, so the duties and standards applying during the relevant period need to be considered rather than assuming that current requirements applied unchanged to historic employment.
Relevant questions can include what harmful substances the employee encountered, whether the risks were adequately assessed and what steps were taken to prevent or control exposure. Ventilation, working methods, information and training and the provision and use of appropriate protective equipment may be relevant depending on the circumstances.
Some emphysema claims involve exposure accumulated across a long working life. Where more than one employer may have contributed to the harmful exposure, each relevant period of employment may need to be investigated.
A former employer going out of business does not necessarily prevent a claim. It may still be possible to trace the employers’ liability insurer that provided cover during the relevant employment period.
Responsibility cannot be established simply from the fact that emphysema developed after someone worked in a dusty or polluted environment. A successful claim requires evidence connecting the disease to the occupational exposure and establishing a legally relevant failure by the party against whom the claim is made.
How Much Emphysema Compensation Could You Claim?
The amount of compensation awarded for emphysema depends on the severity of the condition and the effect it has on the person’s life. There is no standard settlement for an emphysema claim.
Medical evidence will be used to assess the extent of the lung damage, current symptoms and likely prognosis. The effect on mobility, physical activity, employment and independence may also be relevant. Where the condition has caused financial losses, these can be considered separately as part of the overall claim.
The Judicial College Guidelines provide guideline brackets for general damages in lung disease cases. These compensate for pain, suffering and loss of amenity rather than every financial consequence of the condition.
For a general indication only, you can also use our personal injury compensation calculator. An emphysema claim would still need an individual assessment using appropriate medical and financial evidence.
Emphysema & Lung Disease Compensation Guidelines
| Lung Disease & Its Effects | Guideline Compensation |
|---|---|
| Disease such as emphysema causing significant and worsening lung function, impaired breathing, prolonged or frequent coughing, sleep disturbance and restriction of physical activity and employment | £72,430 to £92,520 |
| Breathing difficulties short of disabling breathlessness, with fairly frequent use of an inhaler, inability to tolerate smoky environments, an uncertain prognosis and a significant effect on social and working life | £41,370 to £72,440 |
| Bronchitis and wheezing without serious symptoms, with little or no serious or permanent effect on working or social life and varying levels of anxiety | £27,480 to £41,370 |
| Slight breathlessness without an effect on working life, where substantial and permanent recovery is likely within a few years of the exposure or aggravation | £14,060 to £27,480 |
These figures are guidelines rather than guaranteed emphysema compensation amounts. The appropriate bracket depends on the medical evidence and the circumstances of the individual case.
General damages are also only one part of a claim. If emphysema has affected someone’s ability to work or created additional expenses, recoverable financial losses may form part of the compensation. These could include past or future loss of earnings, care costs and reasonable treatment or travel expenses where they have resulted from the condition and can be supported by evidence.
How Long Do You Have to Make an Emphysema Claim?
The usual limitation period for a personal injury claim in England and Wales is three years. With an industrial disease such as emphysema, however, working out when that period began can require careful consideration.
The three-year period may run from the date the cause of action accrued or, if later, the person’s relevant date of knowledge. This is particularly important where harmful workplace exposure occurred many years before the connection between the disease and the person’s employment became apparent.
A diagnosis of emphysema may be relevant to the question of knowledge, but the date of diagnosis is not automatically the date from which the limitation period runs. The circumstances need to be considered to establish when the person knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, the relevant facts about the significant injury and its possible attribution to the act or omission alleged.
There are circumstances in which different limitation rules can apply. For this reason, someone who believes their emphysema may be related to previous workplace exposure should seek legal advice without unnecessary delay.
Acting early can also help with the practical investigation of a claim, particularly where employment and exposure records need to be obtained or a former employer’s insurer needs to be traced.
How Tylers Solicitors Can Help
Emphysema claims can involve working conditions and exposure that date back many years. Tylers Solicitors can investigate your employment history and consider whether there is evidence that occupational exposure caused or contributed to your condition.
This includes looking at the type of work you carried out, the substances you encountered and the measures your employer took to manage harmful exposure. Where previous employers are involved, enquiries may also be needed to identify the relevant employers’ liability insurers.
Medical evidence plays an important role in establishing diagnosis, causation and prognosis. It can also help show how emphysema affects your everyday life and whether the condition is likely to affect your ability to work in the future.
If there are grounds to pursue a claim, we can also consider the financial effect of the disease so that any recoverable losses are properly evidenced.
Tylers Solicitors handles eligible emphysema and Industrial Disease Claims on a No Win No Fee basis. The terms of the funding arrangement will be explained to you before you decide whether to proceed.
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Emphysema Claims FAQs
What are the symptoms of emphysema?
Breathlessness is a common symptom of emphysema and may initially be more noticeable during physical activity. Other respiratory symptoms can include coughing and wheezing, although the way emphysema affects people varies.
These symptoms can have other causes, so they should not be treated as proof that someone has emphysema. A medical assessment is needed for diagnosis.
Can I make a claim if my emphysema was caused by workplace exposure?
You may have grounds for a claim where occupational exposure caused or materially contributed to your emphysema and an employer breached a duty owed to you.
Workplace exposure alone does not prove negligence or medical causation. The circumstances of the employment and appropriate medical evidence need to be considered before liability can be established.
How much compensation could I claim for emphysema?
There is no fixed amount. The Judicial College Guidelines include a bracket of £72,430 to £92,520 for disease such as emphysema involving significant and worsening lung function, impaired breathing and other specified effects. Other lung disease brackets may be relevant depending on the medical evidence and severity.
These figures relate to general damages. The overall value of a successful claim may also take account of recoverable financial losses caused by the condition.
How is emphysema diagnosed?
Doctors can consider a person’s symptoms, medical history and relevant risk factors before carrying out further investigations where appropriate. Lung function testing such as spirometry can help assess airflow, while imaging may be used to examine changes within the lungs.
The precise tests required depend on the individual. In a compensation claim, further medical evidence may also be required to consider whether occupational exposure caused or materially contributed to the condition.
What is the difference between emphysema and COPD?
COPD is the broader term for a group of chronic lung problems involving persistent airflow obstruction. Emphysema is a form of COPD involving damage to the alveoli within the lungs.
Someone diagnosed with emphysema may therefore also be described as having COPD, but the two terms should not be used as though they have exactly the same meaning. Our COPD Claims page explains the wider condition and how workplace exposure may be relevant.
Can I claim if the workplace exposure happened years ago?
Potentially. Industrial diseases can become apparent long after the exposure responsible for them occurred, so the fact that the relevant employment was many years ago does not automatically prevent a claim.
The limitation period still needs to be considered carefully. Evidence about historic employment and exposure may also need to be obtained, and an insurer may need to be traced if the former employer is no longer trading.
Related Lung Disease Claims
Claims involving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused or materially contributed to by harmful workplace exposure.
Explore compensation claims involving illnesses and conditions caused by workplace exposure.
Claims where dust, fumes, chemicals or allergens at work caused or aggravated asthma.
Claims involving lung scarring caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, often many years earlier.
Take the Next Step: Contact Us
If you have been diagnosed with emphysema and believe harmful exposure during your current or previous employment may have contributed to the condition, Tylers Solicitors can consider the circumstances and advise you about your options.
Eligible Emphysema Claims can be handled on a No Win No Fee basis. We will explain the funding arrangement and the claim process before you decide how you want to proceed.
Call us on 0800 699 0079, email us at info@tylerssolicitors.co.uk or fill in our online contact form to discuss your potential emphysema claim.