The occupational disease arena has witnessed a spike in the number of industrial deafness claims being brought since the implementation of the Civil Justice Reforms. As these claims represent around 75% of all disease claims in the market, the impact of this trend on defendants will be significant. Other disease claims, such as asbestos-related conditions, work related stress and musculo-skeletal cases remain fairly constant in volume yet require specialist technical handling to manage the causation and insurance scenarios involved and achieve the right outcomes. In addition, deliberate exaggeration or organised fraudulent activity is another emerging risk that demands concerted action.
We are widely recognised as the market leader in occupational disease, receiving some 6,000 instructions every year from most major UK and specialist insurers, large corporations, SMEs and public sector clients. Few firms can match the level of specialism across disease types and the number of dedicated disease lawyers that we offer. Our record includes handling some of the most important cases in this area of the law of recent years as well as high-profile group litigation in the UK and internationally. Within the definition of disease we handle claims arising from exposure to harmful substances and work place activities leading to (amongst other conditions) cancer, asthma and dermatitis. We also frequently handle public liability claims arising from carbon monoxide exposure and toxic mould/damp.
We use our technical capacity to settle appropriate cases quickly and defend others both on the merits and in terms of preventing claim floodgates. Our teams deliver a high repudiation rate and savings on indemnity spend, using innovative tools such as ‘NoiseAssist’ to screen out non-compliant and fraudulent deafness claims. Our service is enhanced through our bespoke management information and claims analysis support.
Our thought leadership proposition is also compelling. Our disease specialists work closely with industry bodies in shaping the policy landscape around disease litigation. We also provide knowledge sharing, in-depth research, trend analysis reports and mini-guides to support insurers and other clients, including our highly regarded annual disease conference which is described as “an annual must – the leading event in this area.”
