Shipbuilding Industry Accident and Disease Claims

The industrial disease team at JMW is here to help you make a successful claim for compensation if you work or have worked in the shipbuilding industry and believe conditions there have resulted in you suffering injury. We have a deep understanding of this area of law and can provide the expert guidance you need to ensure you are able to secure the compensation to which you are entitled.

Contact our team today about your shipbuilding accident claim. Simply call us for free on 0345 872 6666 or complete our online enquiry form and we will give you a call back so that you can get your claim underway.

How JMW Can Help

If you have been diagnosed with a disease that was caused by your place of work, you are entitled to claim compensation. Employers have a duty of care towards employees to ensure their safety whilst at work. However, there are some industries that are more likely to cause disease in employees, one of which is shipbuilding.

Shipbuilding is notorious for being relatively risky work, with employees often working at heights and in small, confined spaces. Workers can also be exposed to hazardous substances during their working life, such as asbestos, which may lead to issues many years after exposure; employees may even have left the job by the time their disease has been diagnosed.  

At JMW, we have assisted many people who have been hurt or suffered a disease due to their work in the shipbuilding industry. We pride ourselves on our professional and proactive approach as we work to secure you the very best compensation award possible.

Our team is committed to helping you throughout the duration of your case and we will keep you regularly updated on any developments as we go. We are dedicated, experienced and with you every step of the way.

More and more people from this industry are coming forward to claim compensation from employers and former employers. We encourage anyone who believes they were exposed to asbestos or who has contracted any sort of industrial disease due to working in the shipbuilding industry to speak to a professional, qualified solicitor, such as those at JMW Solicitors, about their options and how to get a claim underway.

Common Diseases Caused by the Shipbuilding Industry

Those working in the shipbuilding industry can be exposed to a range of conditions that can be hazardous to health and can lead to industrial diseases, such as those caused by asbestos. While asbestos-related diseases are no longer a threat to those currently working in the shipbuilding industry, shipbuilders do still stand at risk of contracting other industrial diseases, including industrial deafness and contact dermatitis.

Asbestos-related Conditions

The most common industrial diseases associated with shipbuilding are due to asbestos exposure. The substance was commonly used in the 1950s and 1960s when firms were unaware of the dangers it posed. Shipbuilding and repair is just one of the industries to have seen a prolific number of asbestos-related diseases affect its employees. Asbestos fibres can settle in the lungs or other parts of the body, leading to chronic illness. Symptoms tend to not reveal themselves for decades after exposure.

Asbestos was banned completely in the UK in 1999; however, those who worked with or near asbestos may not know they have contracted one of the issues associated with asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma, pleural thickening, lung cancer and asbestosis, for years to come.  If you or one of your loved ones is in this position, you are eligible to make a claim for compensation.

Asbestos Compensation Claims for Vickers Shipyards Workers

The Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL) yard in Barrow-in-Furness and the Vickers Armstrongs Ltd yard in Newcastle upon Tyne are both well known for having used asbestos as an insulator for boilers and pipework, as well as between compartments within ship deckheads and bulkheads. It was also present in ships that were being built, refitted, repaired or decommissioned in these shipyards.

As a result of this heavy usage, thousands of workers in both Cumbria and the north east are likely to have been exposed to asbestos while working in shipyards with limited to no protection against the commonly-used material. Because of some of the lengthy gestation periods of some asbestos-related diseases, many VSEL employees were exposed to asbestos fibres are only now experiencing symptoms of asbestosis, pleural thickening and mesothelioma.

If you are one of these individuals, we can help you claim compensation for your wrongful exposure to asbestos.