Asbestos diseases and compensation

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos diseases and compensation, by D.H. Yates (BMJ, 1990).

The study

• Author: D.H. Yates
• Journal: BMJ
• Published: 1990;301(6752):609
• Type of article: Letter, Comment
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 003756).

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a research study. The author, from the Department of Social Security in London, responded to Professor Anthony Seaton's article on compensation for asbestos related diseases. The letter stated that asbestosis is classed as a pneumoconiosis. It gave the prescribed disease numbers as D3 for mesothelioma, D9 for bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, and D8 for lung cancer in association with asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening. The claim form asks for the date symptoms first began, not the date of diagnosis, and claims for malignant diseases are treated especially urgently. A table of new disablement benefit awards showed 290 asbestosis awards in 1984 and 224 in 1988. Mesothelioma awards rose each year, from 201 in 1984 to 479 in 1988. In 1988 there were 117 new awards for bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and 59 for carcinoma of the bronchus associated with asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening. Both of these were first prescribed on 1 April 1985. The author noted that some patients with carcinoma of the bronchus who were already registered as having asbestosis were not counted.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor (correspondence) giving practical information and official benefit statistics; not a research study
• Who was studied: New recipients of disablement benefit for asbestos related disease under the industrial injuries scheme, by year, 1984 to 1988 (figures from the Department of Social Security, London)
• Exposure: Asbestos related disease in general (asbestosis, mesothelioma, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, carcinoma of the bronchus associated with asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening); no fiber types, jobs or doses given
• Main results:
  • Mesothelioma is prescribed disease D3, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening D9, and lung cancer in association with asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening D8; asbestosis is classed as a pneumoconiosis
  • The date asked for on the claim form is the date of first onset of symptoms, not the date of diagnosis
  • Claims for malignant diseases are treated especially urgently
  • 1984 new awards: 290 for asbestosis and 201 for mesothelioma (the other two categories were not yet prescribed)
  • 1988 new awards: 224 for asbestosis, 479 for mesothelioma, 117 for bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, 59 for carcinoma of the bronchus associated with asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening
  • Bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and the associated carcinoma of the bronchus category were first prescribed on 1 April 1985
• The authors' conclusion: The letter draws no research conclusion. The author's stated aim was to offer practical details for doctors advising patients on claiming Industrial Disablement Benefit, and more accurate statistics on claims.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Some patients who develop carcinoma of the bronchus were already registered as having asbestosis and are not included in the carcinoma figures
  • 1989 data were not yet available

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Related studies

• A guide to compensation for asbestos-related diseases — M.G. Britton, D.T. Hughes, et al. (1981)
• Compensation for asbestos-related diseases--the U.K. model — M. Britton (1989)
• Asbestos diseases and compensation — A. Seaton (1990)
• Asbestos diseases and compensation — L. Arblaster, P. Hatton, et al. (1990)
• Lump sum compensation for asbestos related lung disease — T. Williams, P. Slade, et al. (1998)
• Workers' compensation for nonmalignant asbestos-related lung disease — C. Nevitt, W. Daniell, et al. (1994)

Browse more research in BMJ, or return to medical research.