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News Desk | News Story
4th November 2009
The 42-year-old from the Gateshead area was diagnosed with occupational asthma after she was exposed to soldering fumes at Turbo Power Systems Limited, based in Team Valley.
She started working for the company, which makes electric generators and motors for the aerospace industry, in June 2007, where she spent up to six hours a day soldering.
She worked with rosin-based soldering wire, which is known to cause occupational asthma, but was never given any training or warning about the dangers.
She was soldering in an enclosed space with inadequate extraction and within a few weeks began to suffer from difficulty breathing.
She was diagnosed with occupational asthma which she has been told she will have to live with the rest of her life.
Following her diagnosis she instructed industrial disease claims specialists Thompsons Solicitors for advice. Thompsons pursued the claim against Turbo Power Systems who, after court proceedings, admitted liability and agreed to pay £20,000 compensation plus legal costs.
The company was also fined £3,000 after the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution for unlawfully exposing employees to soldering flux fumes.
The client, who had worked for more than 20 years in various factories, was later made redundant and has since been unable to find alternative employment.
She said: “Within a few weeks of starting work at Turbo Power Systems I started to have problems with my breathing. I had a terrible dry cough, a shortness of breath, a wheeze on my chest and dry itchy eyes. Since being made redundant the symptoms have slowly improved because I am not breathing in the fumes any more. The doctors told me I will have asthma the rest of my life which means I am now restricted in the type of jobs I can do. I have worked in manufacturing all of my life so I am now having to retrain.”
Tony Hood from Thompsons Solicitors said: “Rosin-based solder flux fumes are a well known cause of occupational asthma. Employers should have rigorous measures in place to ensure workers are not exposed to the risk of developing occupational asthma or other work related diseases. Our client was put at risk unnecessarily and has suffered irreparable harm due to the serious shortcomings in the employer’s procedures. This successful claim and the HSE prosecution should send as a clear message to employers about the importance of complying with their legal duties in relation to workplace health and safety.”
If you or someone you know believes that working conditions have caused you / them to develop asthma or have made your existing asthma condition worse, telephone us now for accurate claim advice as you may be able to make an asthma compensation claim.
There are strict time limits in place to make any personal injury claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.
Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all personal injury matters. We will be able to advise you whether or not you have a valid claim for asthma compensation. Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Thompsons Solicitors to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.