When your workplace leads to an occupational disease…
Occupational Disease claims involve injuries that occur at work and fall into a subcategory of Workers’ Compensation claims with special rules that apply. These claims cover injuries involving occupational lung disease and/or cancer, such as:
- Asbestosis (lung disease)
- Mesothelioma (lung cancer), both directly related to breathing asbestos fibers;
- Silicosis (disease from inhaling silica dust)
- Pnemoconiosis (black lung disease) commonly affecting coal miners who inhaled coal dust
- Byssinois (brown lung disease) associated with poor ventilation systems in cotton or textile mills
Occupational disease may also include injuries involving the brain, such as:
- Solvent-induced neuropathy (brain damage from exposure to benzene, formaldehyde and other industrial chemical vapors)
Our firm is well-versed in the specific criteria required under Workers’ Compensation laws to prove that exposure was work-related. Workers’ compensation provides minimal income compensation and limited medical treatment as a safety net for injured employees. The federal workers’ compensation law provides more benefits than the state workers’ compensation system. The federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) applies to workers who were injured at the port or on ships at the docks. In some circumstances, a worker can file both state and longshore claims.
The following is an example of an occupational disease injury claim from one of our recent cases:
CASE STUDY
Client: Male, 35 years old
Location: Savannah, GA
Injury: Brain injury, toxic exposure
Facts: A polyurethane insulation worker sprayed foam as part of his regular course of work on commercial structures. He used chemical solvents daily. Years after his greatest exposure, his mental lapses worsened to the point that he was having great difficulty performing his job and was forced to keep a notebook as a substitute for his lost memory.
Our investigation into the chemicals, particularly the solvents, that he was exposed to during his work revealed these chemicals were neurotoxic. Testing by a neurotoxicologist determined that our client had suffered brain injury that was consistent with chemical solvent exposure.
Result: Our legal team filed suit against the product manufacturer of the solvents and neurotoxic materials. The case was filed out of state due to restrictions of Georgia law and settled during trial.
Attorney Eugene C. Brooks is a certified trial specialist who has both lectured and written extensively on toxic exposures and other personal injury topics. Mr. Brooks has practiced law in Georgia for more than 25 years and has represented clients in Savannah, throughout Chatham County and Coastal Georgia and around the state.
If you have questions about a legal issue, please feel free to contact us at one of the numbers below. You can also complete our contact form to contact us by email. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.
Brooks Law Firm
313 West York Street
Savannah GA 31401
800-296-7983 Toll Free
912-233-9696 Phone
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