www.simpsonmillar.co.uk – My name is Emma Costin and I am Head of the Occupational Disease Department at Simpson Millar. Most people know what is meant by a personal injury but I am not so sure regarding occupational disease. We deal with a wide range of diseases, the most common of which are probably the asbestos related illnesses such as asbestosis, diffused pleural thickening, mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer but also work related deafness, dermatitis which can be caused for example by exposure to latex or cleaning chemicals or even hairdressing chemicals at work, also occupational cancers including those caused by radiation and exposure to poisonous chemicals. We also deal with stress at work claims and repetitive strain injury claims as well as vibration white finger and other neurological diseases caused by exposure to work equipment over a prolonged period of time. We have a specialist department at Simpson Millar that deals with occupational diseases distinct from any other departments because there are a number of issues related to occupational disease claims that are specialist. In particular, the exposure to the dangerous chemical or substance or work process typically took place either over a long prolonged period of time or many years ago so we can be dealing with companies or employers who have long since been dissolved or taken over, that means that we have to be specialists in tracing what has become of those companies and also their insurers, and having …