Occupational Asthma Claims — Work-Related Asthma Compensation
Last reviewed: June 2026 · EA Personal Injury Solicitors
You can claim for occupational asthma if you became sensitised to a substance at work, such as isocyanates, flour dust, wood dust, solder fume or latex, and your employer failed to prevent or adequately control your exposure under the COSHH Regulations 2002. Claims must usually start within three years of diagnosis or of learning the cause was work-related.
TL;DR — Quick Summary
Key Points
- Occupational asthma is caused by sensitisation to a workplace substance — not merely aggravated by work
- Over 400 substances are known to cause occupational asthma
- Employers must prevent or adequately control exposure to asthmagens
- Three-year limitation from date of diagnosis or date of knowledge
- No win, no fee — if the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation
What Causes Occupational Asthma?
Occupational asthma is caused by inhalation of, and subsequent sensitisation to, a substance at work. Once the immune system is sensitised to that substance, it mounts an allergic response even to trace quantities — triggering bronchoconstriction, inflammation and the characteristic symptoms of asthma: wheeze, cough, chest tightness and breathlessness. This immune sensitisation is irreversible: once you are sensitised, you will react to that substance for life.
Occupational asthma accounts for around 9-15% of adult-onset asthma. It is both preventable and, with prompt diagnosis and removal from exposure, potentially partially reversible — though many sufferers are left with permanent, often severe asthma.
Common Workplace Causes of Occupational Asthma
The Health and Safety Executive publishes a list of occupational asthmagens. Common causes by industry include:
- Spray painting — isocyanates (the most common industrial cause)
- Bakeries and flour mills — flour dust, grain dust, amylase
- Woodworking — hardwood dusts (especially western red cedar)
- Metalworking and engineering — soldering flux (colophony), metal working fluids
- Healthcare — latex, glutaraldehyde, cleaning products
- Laboratories and veterinary work — laboratory animal allergens
- Adhesives and coatings manufacturing — epoxy resins, acrylates
- Hairdressing — persulphate bleaches
- Farming — grain dust, hay mites, animal dander
Employer Duties
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require employers to assess the risk from hazardous substances, prevent exposure where possible and, where prevention is not possible, adequately control it. Employers must implement exposure controls — typically engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation — supplemented by personal protective equipment (RPE) where necessary. Biological monitoring, health surveillance and training are also required for known sensitisers.
Where an employer fails to prevent sensitisation, or fails to diagnose and remove a sensitised worker promptly, they may be liable for the development and continuation of the condition.
No Win, No Fee Occupational Asthma Claims
We act under a Conditional Fee Agreement. If the claim fails, you pay nothing. If the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation.