I am, or have been, a smoker. Will I still be able to claim compensation for asbestos disease?

Even if you smoke or have smoked, you should not be put off from trying to make an asbestos related disease claim.

The combination of smoking and asbestos illness can make proving an asbestos compensation claim more complicated than is the case with non-smokers.

For instance, in the case of lung cancer, it has to be proved that you were subjected to heavy doses of lung cancer and that the asbestos particle count in your lungs is consistent with such high exposure. If this can be proved, irrespective of the fact that you smoked, you would still be likely to receive an award of asbestos compensation, even if the award were to be reduced by a percentage of say 30%, by way of ‘contributory negligence’  due to the lung damage caused by smoking.