Hi all new to here I'm just trying to get some help on my father's recent diagnosis of asbestosis it's a completely new world to us and i want to know any pit falls of who to avoid in the case of compensation lawyers etc and if he's entitled to anything
thanks
Most asbestosis suffers get riped of with compansation need to make sure any soclictors go's on about human rights and intitled to quality of life given is illness
There are quite a few on here some diagnosed and some who have not
Hi Dale
I was diagnosed last year with pleura plaques, asbestosis, and they threw in emphysema for a little something on the side?Pleura plaques indicate you have had asbestos exposure just by their presence alone, but is not enough for compensation nowadays. Compensation is a fight to get it, unless its mesothelioma he has (Hope not?) If he has asbestosis it is very difficult to prove as the Government moved the goal post and refer to the Helsinki agreement where you must identify your dad has had the equivalent minimum exposure of 5 years.(to put that exposure into context a mechanic would have to change brake drums for 100 years non-stop too get the exposure levels you would need to prove asbestosis!!)You will need a good lawyer, My argument but won't count is, that you only have to breathe it in once to be contaminated!!. I have plenty of proof of me working with asbestos products especially over a 10 year period but I'm having difficulty proving I've had 5 years cumulative moderate exposure!!. be careful though the DWP sent me a form to fill in to get compensation, but it is a one off payment and if you fill it in and accept the compensation you can not go back to them if circumstances change!!! It is a one off final payment -Be warned ?-Hope this helps Plumbob
No wonder my Husband didn't get anywhere with that. It sounds as if you are stitched up all ways. The thing is that builders are still disregarding the warnings and removing it themselves. It costs a lot of money to get in specialists to do the job. X
I was still dealing with it until i finished work in October, contractors are finally getting the message now, you only get the odd small outfit who want to save a bit of money disposing of it themselves which is stupid considering the fines, but trying to get compo is a farce. As I said been coming across it and dealing with it until recently but DWP say it doesn't count being around it you have to bathe in it for it to count as a risk of contamination. I've been covered in the stuff as a heating engineer in the 1970's and still struggling to prove it.
Hi Bob my Dad too been diagnosed with Plureal Plaques and is really struggling to breathe and walk far . Have you found anything in particular that helps
Thanks lisa
Sorry to hear that Lisa. Plureal Plaques generally don't have a major impact on your life unless they are really significant !! has he had any recent scans or x-rays which might indicate an issue? If not he needs to asap.
Everyone is different and deteriorates at different rates, but would suggest your father has an x-ray/scan and sees a consultant. As I've said to others with suspected asbestos related illnesses (if this is the case?) ask his doctor to check his ferritin levels, they don't do it as a norm, but high ferritin levels can indicate possible inflammation of the lungs?
3 years ago I was struggling to breathe and walk ( 2 years prior I was playing rugby and training 2 night a week!!). I was put on oxgen rather than inhalers for anything exertive like walking I am now on oxygen 24/7
Hope this helps
Take care
Plumbob
Hi Dale. My Husband worked with asbestos as a builder years ago. He had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis which they think may be caused by asbestos. There are a lot of
other things they think could cause it like smoking working with wood or stone. They didn't really know so called it Idiopathic which means Don't Know. He also worked for himself so had nobody to claim off of. I don't know if all that is any help. X
A was talking to asbestos doctor who works at Christies cancer hospital about my condition .. And he told me my condition is very plausible as asbestosis being cause.
Told him about my job as school cartaker .. fairly lite work and would not of work my lungs to hard then i told him about my job as removals man.
He reckons that is very plausable when i started my heavey manual work my lungs where working harder thus inflating to max etc and the sharp asbestos fibers my body could not desolve where pushing threw parts of my lung tissue causing inflamation infections and destruction
Hi -It is so difficult to prove asbestos is the cause I have provenly worked with it and around it for ten years, and it's taken me 4 years to collate enough proof / information to go to court at the back end of the year (if I'm still around by then) it has been a very frustrating and drawn out process. If it was mesothelioma ( a lung tumour cause by asbestos) it would generally be sorted within 9 months, but asbestosis is so difficult to prove !!!
Take care
Plumbob
Hi my husband has been diagnosed with Asbestos, COPD, Emphysemia, Bronceistis, thickening, Auto Immune Weakness, he worked as an apprentice mechanic and then as a motor mechanic for 10 to 11 years in the 1960s, at the moment we have just put in a claim through his Union but have no idea if this will get anywhere. Write down everything each doctor, Consultant, registrar say is wrong with you Dad every time he has an appointment. Sue
I cut asbestos with a circular saw and no masks or vents for 10 years. I was in ICU for 32 days in 2008 and when I was awake they kept asking had I worked with asbestos? At that time I was under the impression I had not as I was told by my suppler that it was not the blue dangerous asbestos but last year I found it was the Brown second most dangerous. Even though I told my GP it still took 3 months before I saw a specialist! ( NICE Guidelines state maximum of 14 days for referral and visit) My specialist has based his decision on a 2008 CT scan and my GP on a 2010 xray with pneumonia. Both stating we do not think that my lungs are damaged because of asbestos but do agree that they are damaged and I have a 57% lung function upright with a further drop of 12.5% when flat? All the white parts on my CT were said to be fluid but when I was told and shown the scan in 2008 they showed all my fluid was on the outside area of my lungs and the the interior was because of damage.
Hi Offcut- I agree with you that in the 70's we were told it was only the Blue asbestos that did damage and the brown & white asbestos was harmless.I carried different forms of asbestos in the back of an open van for years !! I have been told by 3 different consultants that they are pretty sure the fibres in my lungs are asbestos and even pleura plaques confirm proof of asbestos exposure & contamination But the government say No ? Yet DWP send me an application form for compensation !!!! Confused or what ? I'm awaiting for one of the country's top specialist to get back to me to see if there is grounds for compensation under the Helsinki Agreement !! Plumbob
I cannot understand how in 2008 they were so concerned about me working with asbestos and now that I have found I have. I am met with so little interest. I was told that when I lost my job at JS to claim DLA as it is obvious that I am unfit for work to be turned down and have to fight to even get ESA. My GP based his diagnosis on a Xray from 2010 it has been the last 2 years that my breathing has gone down hill. It took that long to get a spiro test which then warranted an specialist appointment, after they found a month on water tablets did nothing to improve my breathing, except give me kidney pain while on them!
The consultant went though my 2008 CT scan and said before that black is good and white and grey are not! So when we saw some lumps of White he said oh they might be fluid, even though in 2008 my then consultant showed me that all my fluid in my lungs was at the bottom and outer area. I also had a large splodge of grey which was put down solely to my paralysed diaphragm? He then put in for an Xray. He sent a letter to my GP with incorrect data and has stated that he has not looked at my latest xray 
I am beginning to think this is a money saving directive.
Thats exactly what it is - Money saving exercise- and very frustrating to people who are already suffering without having to fight,My illness has left me financially struggling (i didn't go looking for the disease) and on top of that the council are going to build 450 houses outside my front door !! I write letters to people and they just ignore me !! I'm sure if you were Mr. Camerons father sorry for insult) I am sure you would be treated a lot more efficiently without the frustration !!....Topsy turvy country my mate got arrested for not having a fishing licence yet you can come into this country illegally and not get arrested ?? Rant Over Keep breathing - Plumbob
Hi Dale, I wonder if you dad is in a union? If so they should do all the work. My father was one of the first known cases of asbestosis in this country in 1973 and all the work was carried out by the Union. I wish you good luck and I send my good wishes to your dad, it is a terrible complaint. I have now lost three members of my family to asbestosis. Good wishes MAXIMONKEY
I saw a very interesting site that showed that way back in the Victorian times they were aware of asbestos being a killer. Also how the USA asbestos manufacturers used company law to stop paying out compensation. if i find the link I will post it on here
Do Internet searches for: "Turner and Newell UK" and the "Cape Asbestos company,"it's surprising how they Knew Asbestos was a killer back in the 50s and 60s and earlier! shocking how they used workers and hid the truth!
Additional website from Wiki, for Turner and Newell.
They were aware of the problem back in the late 1800's
asbestosforum.org.uk/benefi...
Greater Manchester Asbestos Victim Support Group
mesotheliomasos.com/asbesto...
This is not the link but as interesting
Be well
Thanks for all the replies will hopefully speak to his doc today to get exact diagnosis
Hi dale - First thing is not to panic their are 3 main forms of asbestos contamination Pleura Plaques, asbestosis (fibres in the lungs) and Mesothelioma (tumor in lungs) the first two aren't life threatening and generally Plaques don't have any serious affect on you and asbestosis is generally very slow in having an effect on your health. I assume your from England so trying to make a claim is very difficult as it's hard to prove the fibres in the lungs are asbestos and not other sources (IPF) idiopathic pulmanary fibres... This is a great site for information as well as the British Lung Foundation which will give you guidance to which way to go next - Hope this helps Plumbob
Hi Dales
Here is a link,which will give you quite a few websites,dealing with Asbestosis claims,don't delay claiming,apparently there is a 3 year clause from diagnosis for claiming, good luck the companies owe you,get what is rightfully yours!
Get him to join a Group that deals with Asbestosis matters and who have their lawers this saves alot of leg work , there must be a Group near you as i have done here in Scotland, hope he keeps well, hope this was of some help to you.
Recently diagnosed with COPD
Uncertainty over dad's condition.
Diagnosed with bronchiectasis
newly diagnosed COPD
My dad graduated from ICU today! Severe Pneumonia 
