Personal Injury Solicitors for Barrow-in-Furness

Industrial Disease Claims — Barrow Shipyard

Barrow-in-Furness has been one of Britain's most significant shipbuilding centres for over 150 years. The shipyard — known today as BAE Systems Submarines — has operated under a series of names including VSEL, British Shipbuilders, Vickers-Armstrongs, and predecessors. Generations of skilled workers built submarines, warships, and merchant vessels at the yard and in the associated engineering facilities across the town.

That industrial legacy has left many former workers with serious occupational health conditions. The two most significant categories of claim arising from work at Barrow shipyard are:

Asbestos Disease Claims

Asbestos was used extensively at Barrow shipyard from the early twentieth century until the late 1970s and beyond, in pipe lagging, boiler insulation, bulkhead linings, engine room materials, and other applications. Workers across many trades — laggers, plumbers, engineers, electricians, painters, and even office workers in proximity to asbestos work — were exposed.

Asbestos-related diseases that can give rise to a compensation claim include:

• Mesothelioma — a terminal cancer of the pleural or peritoneal lining, almost always caused by asbestos exposure
• Asbestosis — scarring of the lung tissue caused by heavy asbestos exposure
• Pleural thickening — thickening of the pleural membrane causing breathlessness
• Lung cancer where asbestos exposure is a material contributor

These diseases typically have a latency period of 20–50 years — meaning conditions diagnosed today may result from exposure in the 1960s, 70s or 80s. Claims can still be pursued against the historical employer's insurer even where the employing company no longer exists in its original form.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Claims

Shipbuilding involves extremely high levels of noise — from steel fabrication, riveting, grinding, drilling, caulking, and the operation of heavy plant. Workers in fabrication shops, on the ship, and in fitting-out facilities were exposed to significant noise throughout their careers.

If you worked at Barrow shipyard and have noticed deteriorating hearing, difficulty following conversation, or tinnitus (ringing in the ears), you may have a noise-induced hearing loss claim. The three-year limitation period runs from the date of knowledge — typically when a doctor or audiologist first tells you your hearing loss is consistent with industrial noise exposure.

HAVS / Vibration White Finger

Workers who used vibrating tools — grinders, chipping hammers, drills — over extended periods may have developed Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), sometimes called vibration white finger. Symptoms include blanching of the fingers in cold, numbness, tingling, and loss of grip. These claims can succeed even where the employing company no longer exists.

Family Claims After a Mesothelioma Death

Many Barrow shipyard workers have died from mesothelioma before being able to bring a claim themselves. The estate and dependants of someone who has died from an asbestos-related disease can still pursue a claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. There is no time bar that prevents such claims being brought within three years of the death (or date of knowledge of the dependant).

Other Personal Injury Claims in Barrow

Alongside industrial disease, we handle all types of personal injury claim for clients in Barrow — including road traffic accidents on the A590 and local roads, accidents at work in construction, manufacturing and retail, and public liability claims. We also handle medical negligence claims arising from treatment at Furness General Hospital (part of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust).

Contact Us — Barrow-in-Furness

Call 01228 272 395 or complete our online enquiry form. All enquiries are confidential. We aim to respond within one working day. There is no charge for an initial discussion and no obligation to instruct us.