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Asbestos-Related Disease Claims

England & WalesLast reviewed 18 September 2026

Asbestosis, pleural thickening, asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma are all compensable where negligent exposure at work caused them. Symptom-free pleural plaques alone are not compensable in England and Wales, though they can be a marker of exposure.

Which Conditions Can Be Claimed

Direct Answer: A claim needs actual damage. Asbestosis (lung scarring), diffuse pleural thickening, lung cancer and mesothelioma qualify, while pleural plaques with no symptoms do not in England and Wales.

In Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co [2007] UKHL 39 the House of Lords held that pleural plaques, which show on scans but cause no symptoms, are not actionable damage, and that anxiety about developing a serious disease does not create a claim. Scotland reversed that rule by legislation in 2009. If plaques are accompanied by other conditions, your solicitor can consider those separately.

Proving Exposure Decades Later

Claims rely on your work history: employers, sites, tasks, working with insulation, lagging, boards or dust, and colleagues or records who can corroborate it. Modern rules such as the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 apply to recent work, but most claims concern exposure under much earlier, weaker standards, when employers were still expected to act on the known dangers.

Tracing Insurers

Many employers have since closed. The Employers' Liability Tracing Office and company records help identify the insurers that covered the relevant years, and where none can be found, other compensation routes exist for some conditions, such as the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I claim for pleural plaques?

Not on their own in England and Wales, following the House of Lords decision in Rothwell. Symptom-free plaques are not actionable, though other asbestos conditions are, and Scotland treats plaques differently.

Can I claim for asbestosis?

Yes, if negligent workplace exposure caused it. Compensation reflects the severity of your breathlessness and other symptoms and the effect on your life and work.

What if I was exposed by several employers?

Liability can be shared according to exposure. For mesothelioma specifically, each negligent employer can be liable for the whole damage.

Can family members claim from secondary exposure?

Sometimes. People exposed through dust brought home on a worker's clothes have brought claims, though these depend heavily on the facts and the state of knowledge when the exposure occurred.

What if my old employer no longer exists?

You may still be able to claim. Employers' liability insurance can often be traced through the Employers' Liability Tracing Office, and a dissolved company can sometimes be restored to the register so that its insurer can be pursued. Do not assume the claim is lost.

How long do I have to bring a asbestos-related disease claim?

Generally three years from your date of knowledge: when you first knew you had a significant condition and that it might be work-related. It is not always the date of exposure, which is often decades earlier. A court has a limited discretion to allow late claims, but do not rely on it, and take advice as soon as you have a diagnosis.

Can I claim on a no win no fee basis for a work-related illness?

Usually, yes, if a solicitor thinks the claim has reasonable prospects. A Conditional Fee Agreement means you pay no solicitor fees if the claim fails, and if it succeeds a success fee capped at 25% of general damages and past losses is deducted from your damages. Disease claims need medical and occupational hygiene evidence, so ask how those costs are covered.

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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

Sources for this page

Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 18 September 2026.

  1. Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)

    The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.

  2. Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.

  3. Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)

    Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.

  4. Limitation Act 1980, s.11 (personal injury actions)

    Three years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge. Property damage such as a damaged vehicle is a separate claim with a longer six-year period under s.2.

  5. Limitation Act 1980, s.14 (date of knowledge)

    The three-year period can run from the 'date of knowledge': when you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to the act or omission alleged to be negligent. Central in delayed-diagnosis cases.

  6. Limitation Act 1980, s.33 (discretionary exclusion of time limit)

    A court can allow a personal injury claim to proceed out of time where it is equitable to do so. It is a discretion, not a right, and should not be relied on.

  7. Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd [2007] UKHL 39

    Pleural plaques alone, without symptoms, are not actionable damage in England and Wales, so anxiety about future disease does not found a claim. Scotland reversed this by statute (Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009).

  8. Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/632)

    Modern duties to identify, manage and prevent exposure to asbestos. Most asbestos disease claims concern exposure decades earlier, under earlier and weaker standards.

  9. Employers' Liability Tracing Office

    Industry database that can help trace a former employer's employers' liability insurer, including for old disease claims.

  10. HSE — Occupational lung disease

    HSE guidance on work-related asthma, COPD, silicosis and other lung diseases and their prevention.

Who wrote and checked this page

Written and published by
Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
Legal review
Checked for England & Wales by Edward & Amaury Solicitors — Solicitors regulated by the SRA (no. 800525) (verify on the regulator’s register).Review is recorded against the firm. The individual reviewer is not named on this page.
Review dates
Last reviewed 18 September 2026. Next review due 18 March 2027.

Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.

Think you have a claim? Find out for free.

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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

Sources for this page

Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 2 August 2026.

  1. Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)

    The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.

  2. Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.

  3. Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, ss.44–46 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Ended recoverability of success fees and ATE premiums from the losing party. Did not create or regulate CFAs.

  4. Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)

    Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.

Who wrote and checked this page

Written and published by
Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
Legal review
This page has not yet been through independent legal review. It is written from the primary sources listed below, which you can check directly.
Review dates
Last reviewed 2 August 2026. Next review due 2 February 2027.

Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.