Over 6000 Annual Deaths Estimated Due to Occupational Cancers

Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

The Health and Safety Executive have published statistics about the numbers of work related illnesses and deaths occurring in 2006/07.

The report confirms that 2037 people died from mesothelioma in 2005 and thousands more from other occupational cancers and lung diseases.  An estimated 4000 cancer deaths are thought to be due to asbestos exposure and the HSE estimate that the annual number of work related deaths is likely to be in excess of 6000.

There were 134 deaths from asbestosis (as an underlying cause) and 210 deaths from other forms of pneumoconiosis, mostly due to coal dust and silica.

The HSE claim that the statistics show mesothelioma deaths are decreasing in relation to men aged under 55 which is likely to be as a result of more recent controls in relation to asbestos.  However, the number of deaths caused by mesothelioma are continuing to rise and projections suggest that they will not peak until about 2011-2015.

The HSE report also confirms high levels of work related ill health.  Figures over the last 3 years show that an average of 6300 claims were assessed for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB).  The largest categories were for respiratory diseases caused by asbestos and coal, vibration white finger (VWF) and carpal tunnel syndrome.  The prescribed asbestos related diseases for IIDB purposes are mesothelioma, diffuse pleural thickening, asbestosis and lung cancer.

Click here for link to HSE website and report.

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist asbestos solicitors
John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."   Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of the victims of asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for
information about making a claim for compensation.

Further information:

Kevin Johnson, Partner
John Pickering and Partners LLP
19 Castle Street
Liverpool
L2 4SX

Telephone: 0151 227 1214

E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk

FREEPHONE: 0800 854201