Pleural Effusion Compensation Claims
A pleural effusion can be referred to as ‘fluid on the lungs’. It is a build-up of fluid between the pleural, or lining of the lungs, and the lung itself. A pleural effusion can cause breathing difficulties, a cough and/or chest pain, as well as other symptoms.
Pleural effusions can be caused by a number of conditions including pneumonia, congestive heart failure and liver cirrhosis. They can also be caused by exposure to asbestos. In such cases, you may have the basis for a claim for asbestos disease compensation.
If you have been diagnosed with pleural effusion and have been exposed to asbestos in the past, you may be eligible to claim pleural effusion compensation.
Steps for Compensation Claim
How do I make a pleural effusion compensation claim?
If you have been diagnosed with pleural effusion and are able to identify the company or companies that exposed you to asbestos, we may be able to assist you in claiming compensation.
STEP 1
Confirm Your Diagnosis
The first step is to confirm that your pleural effusion is due to asbestos exposure.
This can be difficult as there are other conditions that can cause a pleural effusion, such as congestive heart failure, kidney failure and infection. To help us to assess this, we will obtain your full medical records and look for markers which favour asbestos being the cause.
STEP 2
Detail Your Exposure to Asbestos
We then need to confirm where, when and how you were exposed to asbestos.
To begin with, we will need you to provide details about your working life. We will consider the nature of your work and how you may have been exposed to asbestos. We will also consider the companies you worked for and the dates of your employment.
We will request your schedule of employment from the HMRC (Inland Revenue) which will help with this. This will detail all the tax years and companies you worked for from 1961/62, when the National Insurance records began.
We will then discuss with you the nature of your work with each company and how you were exposed to asbestos. Our experience allows us to ask relevant questions to help build up your asbestos exposure evidence.
STEP 3
Find Viable Parties to Pay Your Compensation
It is then the job of our specialist asbestos disease solicitors to trace the companies or their insurers and find viable defendants for your potential claim.
As the exposure to asbestos is likely to have occurred many years ago, it is often the case that companies are no longer trading. As long as we can trace insurance cover, which we very often can, a claim can still proceed.
Once it has been confirmed that your pleural effusion is asbestos-related and we have found at least one company or insurer to pursue a claim against, we will be in a position to proceed with a claim.
All claims are run on a no win, no fee basis. One of our specialist asbestos solicitors will go through the documents with you on the phone, or if you would prefer, they can arrange a home visit.
Elements of a Claim
What Will Compensation Be Claimed For?
There are two aspects to each claim:
General Damages
This includes an amount of compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your pleural effusion.
To help value this, we will instruct an independent medical expert to write a report detailing how you have been affected by your condition and outlining the likely prognosis. We will consider this medical evidence alongside the Judicial College Guidelines to value this part of the claim.
Special Damages
This relates to any financial losses you have suffered as a result of your diagnosis.
This can include:
- Loss of earnings, this applies if you are/were still working at the time of your diagnosis and are no longer able to continue working.
- Care and assistance, compensation for the care and assistance you have received, if your condition has progressed to the point where you are no longer able to do some things for yourself. This can include privately paid nursing care or care provided by a family member. This can also include assistance with attending medical appointments, shopping, housework and gardening.
- Adaptation costs, this can include stairlifts, for example.
- Travel expenses, including travel to and from medical appointments. Make sure you keep a note of your appointments, mileage, taxi fares and so on.
About Us
Why choose us for your pleural effusion claim?
Our clients are special to us. We are a small, dedicated team who get to know each and every client.
Our specialist team has over 30 years’ experience between them, so you couldn’t be in better hands. We provide exemplary service with a personal touch in this highly-specialist area of law.
As we are not a large, faceless company, you will speak to the people who work on your case from day one. Our expert team thrives on delivering excellent client service.
Our specialist solicitors have helped to successfully claim millions of pounds of asbestos disease compensation over the years. We aim to successfully conclude claims as efficiently as possible, achieving the best results for our clients with speed and vigour.
Whoever you instruct to pursue your asbestos pleural effusion claim, make sure they are specialists in asbestos disease compensation. This is a niche area of law, and all of our solicitors are experts in this field who will fight to secure the compensation and justice you deserve.