industrial diseases

One of Britain's richest lawyers has been struck off for taking unfair cuts from compensation payouts for sick miners whom he was representing.

James Beresford, 58, and his colleague and Douglas Smith, 52, made tens of millions of pounds from personal injury claims under the Government's coal health compensation scheme, a hearing was told.

A former north-east chicken factory worker who contracted asthma after inhaling chemicals at work has been awarded almost £25,000 in damages.

Recent figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change have indicated that the Government is making progress towards settling the accident claims of former coal miners.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer which is often caused by exposure to asbestos, and is sometimes known as ‘asbestos cancer’.

If you ever worked in manufacturing industries such as building, ship building, motoring, power stations or household appliance manufacturing you could have been dangerously exposed to asbestos.

Miners who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee have been given the go ahead to make compensation claims. The condition is caused by long hours working underground and Miners who have worked in the mining industry in the North East for at least 10 years are now able to claim for Industrial Disablement Benefit.

An estimated 170,000 people suffer with forms of Occupational Respiratory disease and Industrial Asthma. The symptoms include breathing or lung problems which they believe to be work related, although the true figure is likely to be significantly higher. The occupations with the highest incidents of Occupational Asthma, as reported to Chest Physicians, were Bakers, Flour Confectioners, Spray Painters, and those in the welding trades.