Industrial Injuries & Illnesses

Though the working conditions at the workplace have improved immensely in the past few years, still it is quite common to see cases where people have developed industrial injuries and illnesses due to excess of exposure to any harmful substance that is extensively used at their workplace.

In case, an employer has exposed their employees to some harmful substance that has further lead to the development of any disease or illness, the grieved employee can then claim for compensation for his condition from the employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide protection to its employees from hazardous situations and substances while they are working for the company. This can be done by either minimising or replacing the harmful substance with a less harmful one.

However, if it is not possible to replace or minimise the use of the harmful substance, employees can then be made available any device or clothing to protect themselves from any industrial injuries and illnesses that might be anticipated due to an exposure to that harmful substance or situation. For instance, in case the working environment at the workplace is too noisy to bear, it becomes the duty of the employer to take measures so as to decrease the noise to the acceptable level. If this doesn’t seem to be a possible option, employees can be made available ear defenders to avert Noise Induced Hearing Loss or Industrial Deafness. If these protective defenders are provided to employees, wearing them is surely their responsibility and not the employers.

In case an employee is undergoing sufferings due to any previous conditions at the workplace, he may be entitled to a personal injury compensation claim. There are various factors that might lead to industrial disease compensation for conditions such as lung cancer, industrial deafness, vibration white finger, pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, industrial skin diseases, industrial respiratory diseases and mesothelioma. Nevertheless, the numbers of victims placing a claim for industrial diseases have reduced to a great extent due to improved working conditions that are ensured to employees these days.

Unlike the industrial disease compensation claims, generally the claim for the personal injury should be made by the victim within three years from the accident date. However, this limitation of three years is overlooked in certain rare cases if the victim is not aware of the injury or illness in the first three years. To make the claim for the same, it is necessary for the victim to prove that he/she acted promptly after his/her diagnosis about the suffering.