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Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease which develops after you
have been exposed to substantial quantities of asbestos dust.

Sadly, there is currently no cure for asbestosis.
We have successfully pursued many compensation claims for
asbestosis for workers in a variety of occupations including laggers,
demolition workers and those who worked in asbestos factories.

About The Causes

What Causes Asbestosis?

By inhaling large quantities of asbestos dust over time, the fibres can gradually damage your lungs by becoming lodged within the alveoli (the small sacs inside your lungs where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the blood). The fibres cause irritation to the lung tissue which can, after a latency period of approximately 20 to 40 years, result in scarring. The slow growth of scar tissue snakes across your lungs and stops them from expanding and contracting normally. This can cause a wide range of symptoms including breathlessness.

Common occupations that can put a person at risk of developing asbestosis are those that exposed someone to high levels of asbestos dust over a prolonged period of time. We regularly see people who worked as laggers, demolition workers or asbestos factory workers, who have been diagnosed with asbestosis.

About The Symptoms

Asbestosis Symptoms

Asbestosis symptoms can be life-changing, but there are a range of treatments available to help manage these.

The symptoms of asbestosis mainly affect your breathing and respiratory system but symptoms can include:

What Are the Treatments

Treatment For Asbestosis

Unfortunately, asbestosis cannot be cured because it is impossible to repair scarred lung tissue. However, there are a number of palliative treatments that can significantly improve your quality of life. 

Postural Drainage and Chest Percussion

Otherwise known as chest physical therapy or CPT, postural drainage and percussion is a manual treatment technique which uses gravity and clapping on the chest and/or back to loosen the mucus in the lungs to allow it to be cleared by coughing.

Surgery

In some cases, doctors may recommend surgery to treat asbestosis. The goal of asbestosis surgery is often palliative and designed to reduce your pain and relieve other symptoms. For example, a doctor may recommend surgery to drain excess fluid from your lungs, which will make it easier for you to breathe.

Vaccinations

If you have asbestosis, you are more likely to suffer with lung infections. Vaccinations against influenza and pneumonia can help prevent these infections taking hold, giving you a better quality of life.

Quit Smoking

Smoking makes the symptoms of breathlessness worse. Therefore, doctors will advise you to give up smoking immediately. As well as reducing your symptoms, quitting smoking will significantly reduce your risk of developing lung cancer. As someone with asbestosis, you have a higher risk of developing lung cancer, so you should do everything you can to reduce this. Lung cancer often has a much worse prognosis than asbestosis. You may want to visit the NHS SmokeFree website for support by clicking here.

About The Prognosis

What Is The Prognosis For Asbestosis?

Importantly, asbestosis is not a form of cancer. Therefore, unlike mesothelioma, the prognosis for asbestosis can be relatively positive. Sufferers of the disease can live for years, and even decades in some cases because the condition normally progresses slowly. 

However, it is important that you consider that asbestosis is a chronic condition which will worsen over time. As you age, you are likely to require more treatment. You will have a more positive prognosis if you have a mild form of the disease. 

As asbestosis itself is non-malignant it does not often prove to be directly fatal. However, the secondary conditions it can cause can prove to be fatal. For example, the heart must work harder to push blood through damaged lungs and this can lead to heart failure, while reduced lung capacity can lead to congestive heart failure. 

About the Claim

Can I claim Compensation For Asbestosis?

If you have been diagnosed with asbestosis, we may be able to help you claim compensation. We can also give you advice about other financial help you may be entitled to.

We help people every year claim the compensation they deserve by pursing successful, civil compensation claims. In a civil compensation claim you can claim compensation from the company who exposed you to asbestos. This is often an ex-employer. You are often able to claim compensation even if the company no longer trades. This is because we make the asbestos claim against the insurance that your employer had when you were exposed.

You will often get much more money through a civil asbestos compensation claim than you would received through governmental compensation schemes or benefits.

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