How to Claim for Silicosis

The three claim routes after a silicosis diagnosis: California workers' compensation step by step with its deadlines, a third-party lawsuit, and UK IIDB.

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If you have been diagnosed with silicosis, there are three claim routes, and which one applies depends on where you worked and for whom. In California, almost every employed worker starts with a workers’ compensation claim, filed with the employer under deadlines set by the Labor Code. Separately, you may be able to sue a third party such as the manufacturer of the material that exposed you. If you worked in the UK, the starting point is a government benefit, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, not a lawsuit. This page takes each route in order. It is general information only; a licensed attorney or the California Division of Workers’ Compensation can tell you how it applies to you.

Route one: a California workers’ compensation claim

Workers’ compensation is filed with your employer, not with a court. The steps and their deadlines below are quoted from the California Labor Code.

1. Tell your employer in writing, within 30 days. Section 5400: “no claim to recover compensation under this division shall be maintained unless within thirty days after the occurrence of the injury … there is served upon the employer notice in writing” (Labor Code 5400). Keep a copy.

For an occupational disease, when does the 30 days start? Section 5412 answers it: “The date of injury in cases of occupational diseases or cumulative injuries is that date upon which the employee first suffered disability therefrom and either knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that such disability was caused by his present or prior employment” (Labor Code 5412). Note “present or prior employment”: a past employer counts, not only the job you hold now.

2. Your employer must give you the claim form within one working day. Section 5401(a): “Within one working day of receiving notice or knowledge of injury under Section 5400 or 5402, which injury results in lost time beyond the employee’s work shift at the time of injury or which results in medical treatment beyond first aid, the employer shall provide, personally or by first-class mail, a claim form and a notice of potential eligibility for benefits under this division to the injured employee” (Labor Code 5401). The statute says “a claim form”; the Division of Workers’ Compensation calls it the DWC-1.

3. You file it by handing it back or by mail. Section 5401(c): “A claim form is deemed filed when it is personally delivered to the employer or received by the employer by first-class or certified mail” (Labor Code 5401). Certified mail gives you a dated record.

4. Treatment must be authorised within one working day, up to $10,000 while the claim is decided. Section 5402(c): “Within one working day after an employee files a claim form under Section 5401, the employer shall authorize the provision of all treatment, consistent with Section 5307.27, for the alleged injury and shall continue to provide the treatment until the date that liability for the claim is accepted or rejected.” Until that decision, “liability for medical treatment shall be limited to ten thousand dollars ($10,000)” (Labor Code 5402).

5. No rejection within 90 days means the injury is presumed compensable. Section 5402(b): “If liability is not rejected within 90 days after the date the claim form is filed under Section 5401, the injury shall be presumed compensable under this division” (Labor Code 5402).

6. One year to start proceedings. Section 5405 requires proceedings to be commenced within one year from “the date of injury”, from the expiration of any period covered by payment, or from “the last date on which any benefits … were furnished” (Labor Code 5405).

7. Temporary disability pays two-thirds of average weekly earnings. Section 4653: “the disability payment is two-thirds of the average weekly earnings during the period of such disability” (Labor Code 4653).

8. If the employer was uninsured, a state fund pays the award. Section 3716: if an uninsured employer fails to pay, “the award, upon application by the person entitled thereto, shall be paid by the director from the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund”, a fund created “to ensure that workers who happen to be employed by illegally uninsured employers are not deprived of workers’ compensation benefits” (Labor Code 3716).

Where to get free help in California

The Division of Workers’ Compensation explains how to file a claim for an occupational disease, runs information and assistance officers who help at no cost, and administers the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund. It is listed, with other agencies and worker organisations, in our California worker resources directory, which also explains that Cal/OSHA complaints can be anonymous, that retaliation for reporting hazards is unlawful in California, and that these rights apply regardless of immigration status.

For legal help, the State Bar of California lists certified lawyer referral services, and LawHelpCA lists free and low-cost legal aid by county.

The doctor’s report is not your claim

Silicosis is a reportable disease in California: health care providers must report identified or suspected silicosis to the local health department within seven calendar days, under a rule in force since June 2025 (see the regulation register). That duty sits with the doctor. It does not file a workers’ compensation claim for you and it does not stop any deadline. You still have to give written notice and file the claim form yourself. For what silicosis looks like and how it is diagnosed, see the symptoms guide.

Route two: a lawsuit against a third party

Workers’ compensation is not the only route. A lawsuit against a manufacturer or another third party can often be brought even after a workers’ compensation claim, for losses that workers’ compensation does not cover, and it runs on its own deadline. How such a lawsuit works and who can file is on the silicosis lawsuit overview; what a case can be worth, the time limit and how attorneys are paid are on settlement amounts; how to choose a lawyer is on finding an attorney. Those pages carry the detail; this one does not repeat it.

Route three: UK readers, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

If you worked in the UK, the claim route is a benefit, not a lawsuit. GOV.UK: “You might get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) if you became ill or are disabled because of an accident or disease either: at work or on an approved employment training scheme or course” (GOV.UK, IIDB). You must have been “employed when the accident or event happened”; the scheme covers “more than 70 diseases” including pneumoconiosis; and “You cannot claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if you were self-employed” (GOV.UK, eligibility). The scheme’s technical guidance names silicosis (section 11.1) and says that for pneumoconiosis “you can get benefit if your disablement is assessed as at least 1%” (section 5.7) (GOV.UK, technical guidance).

To claim for a disease caused by work, use “form BI100PD”; the Barnsley IIDB Centre is on “Telephone: 0800 121 8379”, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (GOV.UK, how to claim).

What to do next

  1. Write down your exposure history: every employer, including past jobs, with dates, materials and tasks.
  2. Tell your employer in writing that you have a work-related lung condition, and keep a copy.
  3. Ask for the claim form and file it by hand or by certified mail.
  4. See a doctor and say clearly that you believe the exposure was work-related.
  5. Get free help from the DWC’s information and assistance officers if anything stalls.
  6. Ask an attorney whether a third-party claim is open to you; see finding an attorney.

This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship; see the Notice & Disclaimer. Deadlines are strict and depend on your facts; a licensed attorney or the DWC can tell you how they apply to you.

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