Osteoarthritis Compensation

Claiming for the contraction of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a condition that affects our joints and is the most common type of arthritis in the UK. It is also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease. The condition involves the degradation of joints, and if you develop osteoarthritis you are likely to suffer from a mild inflammation of the tissues around your joints. It may also lead to damage to your cartilage and bony growths that may develop around the edge of your joints. Most of your joints can be affected by osteoarthritis but the most common are your knees, hips, small joints of the hands and the base of the big toe. The condition is more common in women and usually develops after the age of 50.

Osteoarthritis as an industrial disease can be observed across a range of different careers since its cause is so broad, but it is particularly associated and more easily recognised within several fields. Farm workers are often afflicted with osteoarthritis of the hip due to the nature of their work; this is a widely recognised condition for those employed within the agricultural sector for ten years or more.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is also a common problem for those who have forged for themselves a lengthy career in the mining industry prior to the introduction of the marvellous mining machines which have taken much of the physical strain out of the job, or who have worked without such mechanical assistance, for ten years or more in either case. A career which may be somewhat less physically strenuous but is still no kinder to the knees is that of a carpet or floor fitter who boasts a history in the profession of twenty years or more.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

The most common symptom of osteoarthritis is pain. You are likely to feel pain when walking and any activity that puts weight on your joints. Other main symptoms include short term morning stiffness and general difficulty moving your affected joints. The symptoms can vary as the pain can come and go. These kinds of symptoms will include an increased pain and stiffness when you have not moved for a while, joint tenderness, joints appearing bigger, crackling sound when you move your joints and a decrease in muscle mass.

Compensation claims

If you have suffered from osteoarthitis as a result of your occupation then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Under the law, employers are responsible for ensuring that no undue risk is caused to their employees in the course of performing their duties - if any risk is present, then they are required to mitigate it to an appropriate level. If your profession carried a higher risk of osteoarthritis than the norm, but your employer failed to take this into account or take reasonable measures to protect you, you may well have a claim.

his means that if there were any steps that were not put in place by your employer to prevent you from contracting the condition you are likely to receive an award in compensation based on your initial injuries and any lose of earnings that you are now suffering from.

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