As reported by PR Newswire, a fourth occupational asthma claim in three years against the same plastics manufacturing firm has been settled by Fentons Solicitors. This follows employees developing occupational asthma because they were exposed to the chemical, 'isocyanate'.
John Gibney, of Fenton Solicitors specialist Industrial Disease Claims team said that his client's case was just the latest where an employee of a plastics firm had developed the condition. He also fears that there may be even more workers who have been affected and not yet come forward.
"This latest case, which we settled for £10,000, involved a PVC panel maker who has been affected by the isocyanate when a machine he was using had not been fitted with a fumes extractor," said John, from Fentons' Manchester office. "Even when the extraction unit was later fitted, his symptoms continued and it transpired that the extractor was inadequate and the filter inside was not cleaned on a regular basis as it should have been. Our client was also not provided with adequate respiratory protection.
"After he was moved to a different department his condition has improved, but his lungs are still not recovered from the exposure."
Whilst isocyanate is commonly used in industry, it can affect the lungs if precautionary measures such as filtering, appropriate respiratory protection and appropriate ventilation are not applied.
"My colleagues in the Industrial Disease team have dealt with a significant number of these cases from across the country in the last few years, but the fact that this is the fourth claimant to have been exposed at the same plastics manufacturing firm is clearly a cause for concern," he said.
Occupational asthma is characterised by shortness of breath and wheezing, with around 90 per cent of victims suffering what is known as 'hypersensitivity-induced' asthma, the remaining 10 per cent suffering from 'irritant-induced' asthma or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).