Inhaling Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
Inhaling toxic fumes is an extremely serious situation. But what if it occurs through no fault of your own? What if such a scenario comes about due to the carelessness of a third party? And what if you suffer significant health problems as a result?
In this situation, you would have a viable case to make a toxic fumes compensation claim. This guide should advise you on the steps to take, along with an illustrative case study that shows how combining the two Heads of Loss can maximise your compensation payout.
Before clicking the headings below, why not get in touch with our helpful team. They can assess your eligibility to claim and value your case all in a free no-obligation chat. Simply phone us on 0800 408 7825, drop us a message on our contact form, or alert us on our Live Chat.
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Calculating A Toxic Fumes Compensation Claims
- What Is Chemical Poisoning?
- Toxic Fumes Financial Issues
- Common Causes For Inhaling Hazardous Substances
- Get Solicitors To Value Compensation Settlements
- Eligibility For Care Claims Settlements
- Case Study: £13,000 Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
- Compensation Calculation Estimates For Chemical Gas Inhalation
- Using No Win No Fee For A Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
- Locating Quality Personal Injury Lawyers
- Contact Details
- Extra Resources
A Guide To Calculating A Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
The major topics covered in this guide include:
- Defining chemical poisoning;
- Financial problems arising from the inhalation of toxic fumes;
- The elements of a care claim;
- Compensation calculators and receiving payout estimates;
- No Win No Fee solicitors managing your toxic fumes compensation claim.
Personal Injury Claims Time Limit
Under British law, you would have three years to make a compensation claim. This is triggered from the date you were first injured, or the date you became knowledgeable. Keep this in mind so that you don’t run out of time to proceed with your case. Drop us a line via telephone for further information on the exceptions to this rule.
What Is Chemical Poisoning?
Chemicals are harmful substances that could cause significant damage to the body if inhaled, even accidentally and even in small doses. This is why those working with chemicals wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to keep them safe.
Nevertheless, chemical inhalation could occur, and it’s often the case that it happens unintentionally. Chemical poisoning, therefore, is when a chemical is inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed. General poisoning can happen anywhere, the NHS state that most poisoning cases happen at home with children under 5 being most affected by accidental poisoning.
Potential signs that chemical poisoning has happened include visual burns on the skin, vomiting and diarrhoea. There would also be breathing difficulties, which is why oxygen therapy can be used to treat victims. In extreme cases, it could even be life-threatening.
On a smaller scale, though, the typical recovery time after inhaling toxic fumes would be between a few weeks and a few months depending on the inhalation severity. But regardless, if it occurs due to someone else’s negligence, a toxic fumes compensation claim could be filed. Consult our advisors for more details.
Toxic Fumes Financial Issues
The financial impact of inhaling toxic fumes could have several layers. Time off work could be a requirement to recover fully, and it could be for an extensive period. So, if you only receive sick pay, this could seriously hinder short- and medium-term income. Then consider added medical costs, along with the care needs during your recovery (which we’ll touch upon later).
Each of these has the potential to create financial headaches. But each could also influence how much you could potentially receive if your toxic fumes compensation claim is successful. Leave us a message via our online form to ask any questions.
Common Causes For Inhaling Hazardous Substances
It’s essential to establish where the negligence of a third party has taken place. After all, this is the basis on which you could make a toxic fumes compensation claim. Therefore, you would first have to identify who the third party is and the duty of care they owed you.
You should then demonstrate evidence that a breach of their duty occurred, even if they were unaware of it. And you must prove that you suffered an injury such as toxic fume inhalation due to this breach of duty.
What Legislation Applies A Duty Of Care
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 employers are liable for the safety of their workforce. This covers the prevention of workplace accidents due to avoidable hazards. A possibility is accidentally inhaling a fume while working in a science laboratory due to minimal PPE. If you happen to suffer multiple injuries along the way, you could look at filing a multiple injury claim.
Another is the duty of care via the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 which places responsibility on those who control; public areas to ensure they are as safe as reasonably possible for any visitors. One possibility here is eating food at a restaurant that is contaminated with toxins containing chemicals that are harmful to human beings. This could cause some severe digestive system injuries.
Finally, there is also a road traffic accident or an RTA. This applies to the duty of care under the Highway Code. Now, consider that if a vehicle is emitting a toxic fume, it could hinder another motorist or cyclist. And that could impair their driving to the extent that a crash or collision takes place.
Further guidance on duty breaches can be discovered on our website.
Get Solicitors To Value Compensation Estimates
It’s a vital stage of the claims process to undergo a complete evaluation of your medical condition. This could answer questions such as: how did you feel before the incident? What do you consider to be the moment that led to you inhaling toxic fumes? Could this have been avoided had the third party taken due care and attention? How has this affected you in the aftermath? And how could this affect you moving forward?
Assuming that you answer those questions, the medical check could result in a figure being applied for your suffering due to your injury and/or illness. General damages would form one part by highlighting your pain and suffering, not to mention your life’s impact. And special damages would form the other part by identifying related costs or losses, from medical bills to time off work.
Note that having receipts and invoices for special damages would help prove them further and support your case more strongly. Drop us a call if you want to know more.
Eligibility For Care Claims Settlements
A further element of your special damages would be aftercare. Indeed a care claim would cover any hands-on assistance you receive in the aftermath of your toxic fume inhalation. Hiring a nurse or carer to look after you regularly would be one primary example. Another would be to measure the time of gracious care from friends and family in a monetary form. And it could also include hiring professionals to handle any general house chores. All of these could build up your aftercare, thus increasing your potential payout for your toxic fumes compensation claim.
Use our Live Chat, which is available 24/7, to enquire about care claims.
Case Study: £13,000 Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
Mr Clarence, 36, worked as a painter for a larger, nationwide organisation. As part of his work, he would drive to and from locations. This meant that Mr Clarence would transport many tubs of paints to and from sites. But this would have a detrimental effect on him.
One day, Mr Clarence was driving to his first job of the day. Beforehand, his manager asked him to drop off other tubs of paint at a colleague’s house. However, Mr Clarence didn’t know the paint he was providing for his teammate was dangerous. It had been deemed unfit for use on a previous project due to containing high levels lead. Somehow, though, wires were crossed, and the paint ended up being put aside for additional work.
When Mr Clarence was driving the paints spilt over his car due to the lids not being applied correctly. He began experiencing breathing difficulties and twitching of the eyes and nose. The issues got so problematic that Mr Clarence had to pull over. Further problems with his breathing led him to call 999 and receive on-site medical attention.
An ambulance came to Mr Clarence’s aid, though he was advised to go to his local hospital for a further evaluation. It was only at this point when the truth about the dangerous paint came to light. Once Mr Clarence spoke to his manager, he discovered that the secondary paint tubs should never have been transported, thus causing the incident.
It took a while for Mr Clarence’s breathing to return to normal, he was, also, still dismayed at the turn of events. At one stage, he became overly concerned about his lungs and feared further damage.
The Settlement
After speaking to a personal injury solicitor, Mr Clarence found out that his employers had breached their duty of care to him as applied by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. So, he decided to file a toxic fumes compensation claim against his firm. Mr Clarence received £10,820 in general damages and £2,180 in special damages, meaning £13,000 in total compensation.
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Lost Earnings | Costs of being unable to work | £2,000 |
| Medical Costs | Costs of medical treatment during his recovery | £150 |
| Other Costs | Other costs from his injury | £30 |
We should point out that this situation involving Mr Clarence is only an example, based on our past experiences and provided solely for research purposes.
Compensation Calculation Estimates For Chemical Gas Inhalation
You may see this heading and think that we will discuss an online personal injury claims calculator. But we’re not. Instead, we focus on you and your circumstances. This means that the compensation calculation you receive would be unique to your situation based on your injury and health-related consequences.
So, instead of comparing what you could receive with other claimants, we spotlight you and you alone. And we provide this estimate for your toxic fumes compensation claim free of charge as a customer courtesy. Ring us today to find out what your estimate could be.
Using No Win No Fee For A Toxic Fumes Compensation Claim
No Win No Fee agreements provide a way for people to have legal representation when making a claim regardless of their financial state. What does this potentially mean for you? Well, it means that:
- You don’t pay anything to your personal injury solicitor up-front or while the case is active;
- If you lose your case, you don’t pay any of your solicitor’s legal costs;
- But if you win your case, your personal injury solicitor takes a success fee which has a legal cap on it.
Therefore, you only pay your solicitor’s legal costs if you win. Contact us today to see if you could work with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor from our panel on your toxic fumes compensation claim.
Locating Quality Personal Injury Lawyers
If you want the best possible personal injury lawyers, look for those with industry-defining qualifications. Those at the top of their sector should be your first port of call. Then look for any examples of previous victories for toxic fumes compensation claims plus related positive reviews. And ensure that they provide clear communication throughout the claims process to keep you updated on developments.
If you contact our advisors, they will assess your case for free. After this assessment, they can tell you whether or not they think you have a valid claim. If they think there is a chance of securing compensation they will offer to connect you to personal injury solicitors. When your case is taken on it will be on a No Win No Fee basis.
Contact Details
To see how we could handle your toxic fumes compensation claim, use one of the following three methods to get in touch:
- Telephone 0800 408 7825;
- Instant message us via our Live Chat;
- Or complete our contact form.
We’re accessible at any time of the day to answer your enquiry. And you have no obligation to pursue your case, even after initial contact.
Extra Resources
Do you want to know more about a toxic fumes compensation claim, as well as background information on the subject matter? Check out the six links below!
The Public Interest Lawyers website outlines all of the work that we do for claimants.
We have a page all about accidents on public transport.
And we also discuss cycling accidents in-depth.
The NHS explains chemical poisoning in great detail.
This includes information on treating such an injury.
And you could also check out the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.