What is Industrial Dermatitis?
Industrial Dermatitis is one of the main causes of industrial related injury. It occurs as a result of exposure to hazardous substances that causes an inflammatory reaction to the skin. It mainly affects the hands but in some cases it can affect other body parts including the arms, legs, face and neck.
Common Causes of Industrial dermatitis
Industrial dermatitis occurs as a result of exposure to substances such as cleaning agents, cement, mineral oils, hand-washing agents, etc. It mainly affects the hands but other parts of the body may also be affected. Industrial dermatitis can be divided into two main groups; Primary Skin irritants and secondary irritants. Primary skin irritants produce a direct inflammation on the area of contact. Secondary skin irritants generally occur after a longer period of exposure with the effect not necessarily being confined to the area of skin exposed to the substance.
Who is at risk?
Those at risk of developing either primary of secondary Industrial dermatitis may include workers in the following professions:
- Construction workers handling resins and manufacturing cement
- Hospital, kitchen or hotel workers in regular contact with industrial strength cleaners and pharmaceuticals
- Workers involved in the manufacture of cement
- Mechanics and metal machining workers in contact with mineral oils
- Farm and industrial workers handling pesticides and preservatives.
If you have developed Industrial dermatitis and your circumstances are not listed above, don’t worry, you may still have a claim for compensation. Contact us today and a member of our team will be happy to assist you with your dermatitis enquiry.
Prevention of Industrial Dermatitis – What can be done?
Employers must carry out a comprehensive risk assessment on all processes where the risk of exposure to hazardous substances could cause Dermatitis. Employers should provide employees with suitable protective equipment and data including:
- Gloves to protect hands and arms from any contact with hazardous substances
- Sufficient washing facilities in the event of exposure to hazardous substances
- Hazard data sheets so employees are aware of the substances that they are working with, and the problems that they could experience if their skin is exposed
In any claim for Industrial Dermatitis compensation, it is necessary to prove that the employer had a duty of care to the employee, and that the employer knew or ought to have known that by asking for work to be completed using certain substances in certain conditions, that the employee would be exposed to a risk of developing injury.
Our expertise can save you time and stress
With many years of experience in dealing with industrial dermatitis compensation claims, we understand the legal issues but more importantly the human issues involved in making a claim for compensation for your injuries. We work with fully qualified, specialist industrial injury solicitors across the UK that have many years of experience in dealing with compensation claims of this nature. We believe that is it a clients right as an accident victim to be dealt with by honest and trustworthy professionals that know the inside out so that your claim for compensation runs as smoothly as possible.
I think I can make a claim – What next?
If you would like to see if you are eligible to make a claim for compensation for your injury and losses, call our dedicated team today on 020 7836 5999, alternatively you can submit an online enquiry form to us by clicking here now.
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