State benefits for asbestos victims

Victims of certain asbestos industrial diseases may be entitled to claim state benefits to assist with the financial hardship that being unable to work (or only being able to work less than before) can cause. The main state benefit schemes for which you may be entitled to claim if you (or someone that supported you financially) have been rendered disabled by exposure to airborne asbestos fibres are set out below.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

The Department for Work and Pensions is operating this scheme, which provides weekly or monthly state benefits payments to victims of diseases caused by certain types of work. If you have been made ill or disabled by an asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer that was caused by your job, you may be entitled to receive between £29 and £145 per week (these amounts are a guide only). This will be paid in to your bank, building society, post office or national savings account.

The actual amount you come to receive will depend on your personal circumstances (such as your age and the severity of your disease). As part of the claim process, you may need to visit the doctor, who will grade your illness on a scale of 1-100% in severity. The Benefit Office will then use this information in setting your state benefits payment. If you go into or leave hospital or a care home, or move abroad whilst claiming this benefit, you should contact the Benefit Office to see how this change in your personal circumstances will affect your payments.

Your state benefits claim may affect the amount you receive from other state benefits schemes if these are dependent on the amount you have coming in (such as income support). You should contact the Benefit Office responsible for making these payments to find out if making a claim for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is right for you.

To make a claim for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, you will need to fill out a claim form. You can either obtain a hard copy of this from the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit delivery centre nearest to you or by visiting the Department for Work and Pensions website. The claim form can be found online here.

Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979

This Act provides for a lump sum payment to the victims of dust-related diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening and asbestos-related lung cancer. This is an additional state benefit claim that can be made by people who were exposed to asbestos fibres in the course of their employment and have been awarded state benefits under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme. It is also possible for the dependents of the victim to claim for this payment if the victim is deceased.

This payment will only be made if the victim is unable to obtain compensation from their previous employer for the damages caused by their asbestos exposure. This will ordinarily be because the employer is no longer trading. The victim must not have brought any court action for damages in respect of their disease nor received any out of court settlement.

Victims of a relevant asbestos-related disease may submit a claim under this scheme as soon as they think that they are suffering from the effects of that disease, even if they do not yet know the outcome of their claim for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

The actual amount received will depend on when the victim was diagnosed and the extent of their disablement from the disease. For more information about the payment rates under this scheme, and to submit a claim, you should contact:

Barrow Industrial Injuries Benefit Delivery Centre
PWC Team
Jobcentre Plus
Barrow IIDB Centre
Pittman Way
Preston
PR11 2AB

Telephone: 0800 279 2322

Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme 2008

The Department for Work and Pensions administers this scheme, which was introduced in October 2008 to provide compensation for the victims of the asbestos-related disease, diffuse mesothelioma (or the dependants of a deceased victim of that disease). Though all sufferers with this condition can make a state benefits claim under this scheme in appropriate circumstances, it was specifically designed to compensate victims who contracted the condition after non-occupational exposure to airborne asbestos fibres.

This includes patients who were exposed to asbestos fibres through a relative (for example by washing the work clothes of a person who was occupationally exposed to asbestos) or through asbestos fibres released into the environment (for example as a result of a nearby factory using asbestos). Provided that the asbestos exposure occurred in the UK it will be possible to claim under this scheme.

All claimants under this scheme must provide medical evidence that they have been diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma caused by exposure to airborne asbestos. No further medical examination is required. A doctor, upon diagnosing a patient with this condition should encourage them to apply for state benefits under this scheme and provide the necessary documentary evidence.

A claimant should not be eligible to make a state benefits claim under the Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (see above) and should not have received a compensation payment from an employer or elsewhere.

A claim this scheme must be made within 12 months of diagnosis and the DWP aims to make all payments within six weeks of a valid claim form being submitted. If the claimant was a dependant of the diffuse mesothelioma patient and that patient has since passed away, the claim must be submitted within 12 months of death.

The payment under this scheme is made by way of a lump sum that is calculated according to the age of the sufferer when they were diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma. Payment rates range from £12,040 for someone aged 77 or over at the time of diagnosis to £77,506 to someone aged 37 or under. The payment rates for the dependants of a deceased victim are calculated on a case-by-case basis.

To find out more about this scheme, or to request a claim form and begin a claim, you should contact:

Barrow Industrial Injuries Benefit Delivery Centre
PWC Team
Jobcentre Plus
Barrow IIDB Centre
Pittman Way
Preston
PR11 2AB

Telephone: 0800 279 2322

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the state benefits that you may be entitled to. Further information will be available from your local Jobcentre or Benefit Office. Certain victims of asbestos industrial diseases may also be entitled to claim for:

• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
• Reduced Earnings Allowance

To find out more about the various state benefits that are available, please click here to visit the Directgov website. You could also call the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 88 2200.

If you contact one of our asbestos compensation experts, they will be able to advise you specifically as to the various state benefits that you may be entitled to claim.

If you are eligible for an employment-linked benefit such as the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, you should also consider beginning an asbestos compensation claim. Please click here to begin the claims process today with Humphreys & Co Solicitors. We have a proven track record in representing the victims of asbestos industrial diseases that were exposed to airborne asbestos fibres during the course of their employment and always strive to handle asbestos compensation claims on a no win, no fee basis.