Occupational Asthma Claim Solicitors

Occupational asthma is asthma caused by breathing in harmful substances at work, such as dust, fumes, vapours or chemicals. It can develop within weeks of starting a job or after years of exposure, often in people who have never had asthma before.

Around 3 in 10 people with occupational asthma make a full recovery once their exposure stops, according to Asthma + Lung UK. Occupational Asthma vs Work Aggravated Asthma

Occupational Asthma vs Work Aggravated Asthma

Occupational asthma is caused by your work. Work aggravated asthma is asthma you already had that your working environment has made worse.

Both can support a claim. Your employer must control your exposure to hazardous substances whether or not you had asthma before. If poor controls made your asthma worse, you may still be entitled to compensation.

Allergic vs Irritant-Induced Occupational Asthma

Allergic occupational asthma is the most common type. Repeated exposure gradually sensitises your immune system to a substance, until even small amounts bring on symptoms. Doctors call these substances respiratory sensitisers.

Irritant-induced occupational asthma usually follows a single high exposure, such as a spill or leak of chlorine, ammonia or formaldehyde. In these cases, asthma triggered by a single incident can often be traced to a specific date and event.

The type you have shapes the medical evidence needed and how we trace when and where your exposure happened.

A specialist usually diagnoses occupational asthma after a GP referral, using peak flow readings taken at least four times a day for at least three weeks, plus allergy testing through blood or skin prick tests. These show whether your breathing changes between work and time off, and whether you are sensitised to something you work with.

You usually have three years to raise a court action under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. The three years often run from your date of knowledge: when you knew, or could reasonably have known, that your condition was serious, linked to your work, and who was responsible.

The strongest claims combine medical evidence of your diagnosis with workplace evidence of what you were exposed to and what your employer did, or failed to do. Useful evidence includes:

• medical records from your GP and specialist, peak flow diaries and test results

• occupational health and health surveillance records

• COSHH assessments, safety data sheets, and RPE and fit-test records

• incident reports, particularly for a spill or leak

• P60s, payslips and a record of previous employers and roles

• names of colleagues with similar symptoms or who know the conditions you worked in

• photos and descriptions of your working environment

• receipts and records of your financial losses and expenses

Yes. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) is a no-fault benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for prescribed industrial diseases, including occupational asthma, and it is separate from your compensation claim. Apply quickly, because IIDB can usually only be backdated for three months. Take care with the forms too, as they can be disclosed in a later compensation claim, and our team can help you complete them.

Some benefits you have received may be repaid to DWP through the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) when your claim settles. The amount comes out of parts of your award such as lost earnings, not your solatium. We explain exactly how this affects you before you accept any settlement.

The law protects you from being dismissed or treated unfairly for raising health and safety concerns, and many people claim while still working for the same employer. If your asthma counts as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, your employer must also make reasonable adjustments, such as replacing the substance or moving you to a role away from it. We can give you legal support through occupational health discussions about adjustments or redeployment.

Yes. Under the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011, close relatives, including partners, children, parents and siblings, may claim for loss of financial support and for their grief and loss of companionship. The time limit is usually three years from the date of death, or from when the family could reasonably have known the death was linked to work, if later. Our Fatal and Serious Injury Team is led by a Law Society of Scotland Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law.