Introduction to Lyme Disease at Work Compensation
To begin, you should be eligible to claim Lyme disease at work compensation if you contract this illness during your employment , due to the negligence of your employer.
Lyme disease is an infections illness which was only identified as recently as 1975 and included in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) in 2010.
If you contract Lyme Disease, the consequences can be life-changing. Although the early symptoms of Lyme Disease can be treated with antibiotics, it can take many years until even a mild Lyme Disease infection is totally eradicated as the bacteria which creates the infection can survive against the body´s immune defences
Contracting Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease is caused by bacteria transferred to humans from the bites of infected ticks which are most prevalent in areas where deer may be present, although they can be found all over the country.
Those most under threat of contracting the disease would primarily be outdoor workers including; gardeners, landscapers, brush clearers, forestry workers, park rangers, park or wildlife management, land surveyors, farm employees, cattlemen and dairy farmers and construction workers.
The months of summer see the risk of contracting Lyme Disease increase; however, with estimates from the UK suggesting that one-in-forty ticks are potential carriers of the infection, a tick bite should be treated with extreme caution at any time of the year.
In order to avoid the possibility of an employee contracting this illness, and employer should advise you on the risks of contracting the disease and you should be provided with personal protective equipment – DEET to apply to your skin and Permethrin to apply to your clothing. You should also receive training in the methods used to prevent a tick bite when you are working outdoors.
Lyme Disease Symptoms
Before you consider making a claim for Lyme Disease at work compensation, it must be proven that your affliction is, in fact, Lyme Disease. An initial indicator that you have been bitten by a tick which may have caused Lyme Disease is a bulls-eye shaped rash which develops in the area of the bite. Although symptoms of the disease may develop at any time from three to thirty days after the rash manifests, it will rapidly sweep through the body as the infection progresses and enters the bloodstream.
Early symptoms of Lyme Disease typically include: tiredness, headaches and localised muscle fatigue. Dizziness, heart palpitations and flu-like symptoms can also develop, and a purplish lump may appear on or near an ear lobe, nipple or scrotum. Without treatment, these symptoms can lead to memory loss, sleep disturbances and mood chances, and occasionally cases will develop into meningitis.
Implications of Contracting Lyme Disease at Work
It is possible for Lyme Disease to be misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and other neurodegenerative diseases, as many Lyme Disease symptoms can also be associated with the above illnesses. As a result, there is the potential that you will be treated for an affliction that you do not have while your health continues to worsen.
In this scenario, a threat that permanent neurological injury exists, which may result in paraplegia, cognitive impairment, anxiety attacks, facial palsy and frank psychosis.
It should also be noted that along with the incapacitating symptoms that an individual may suffer when they contract Lyme Disease at work, some studies suggest that this illness may be transferred through sexual contact, and medical experts have recognised that one of the co-infections of Lyme Disease – babesiosis – can be transferred by blood transfusion and can cause the development of malaria-like symptoms.
Claiming Compensation for Lyme Disease
Following an official diagnosis of Lyme Disease by a professional medical practitioner, the next procedure you should undertake is to report the illness to your employer and have it recorded in the business’s Accident Report Book.
It is then recommended that you contact a specialist solicitor to determine whether or not you have a viable claim that is worth pursuing. This will be highly influenced by whether you contracted Lyme Disease because of your employer’s negligence, and if you contributed to the cause of extent of the illness yourself.
Do not hesitate in speaking with a solicitor about making a claim for Lyme Disease contracted at work compensation. Even if your employer immediately admits liability for your illness, there is the possibility that you may be approached by his or her insurance company with an early offer of compensation for your claim, which may result in a decrease in the amount that you rightly qualify for.
How Much Compensation for Lyme Disease Contracted at Work Compensation?
The amount of Lyme Disease at work compensation that you are eligible for will depend on the severity of your condition and the effect it has had on your quality of life. A specialist solicitor will compile your claim by referencing your doctor’s prognosis of your disease as regards your age and general health condition prior to the tick bite that caused your injury.
Also included in your Lyme Disease claim will be whether the illness prevents you from performing everyday tasks without assistance and from living independently, in addition to any deterioration in your quality of life due to being unable to partake in any social and leisure activities that you would have enjoyed had it not been for your condition.
Along with this “loss of amenity” and the general damages for suffering caused by the disease, any quantifiable psychological injury you experience that can be attributed to your contraction of Lyme Disease may also be incorporated into your claim.
You may also be able to be reimbursed for any financial expenses you have incurred and to be recompensed for your loss of income. Your solicitor will attempt to ensure that you are no worse off financially than if your Lyme Disease affliction had never occurred and that you will be financially secure in the future.
Lyme Disease at Work Compensation: Summary
When Lyme Disease is contracted due to your employers failure to provide you with the correct “duty of care”, you may claim Lyme Disease at work compensation.
No amount of compensation will ever substitute for the suffering and anguish you may have suffered due to the effects of the disease. Therefore, if you believe that your symptoms could be attributable to a bite from an infected tick, speak with your doctor at the first possible opportunity.
You would be well advised to consult with an experienced personal injury* solicitor as soon as you have been diagnosed with the disease that was caused by your employer’s negligence. In the free initial consultation that most solicitors offer, he or she could answer any questions that you may have regarding the specific circumstances of your case and could recommend whether your compensation claim for Lyme Disease at Work is worth pursuing.