For decades, Thompsons Solicitors has stood alongside trade unions and individual workers to defend and advance workplace rights. From shaping landmark legislation to winning pivotal cases in industrial disease — especially asbestos and silicosis — the firm has consistently placed injured and mistreated workers at the heart of its mission.
Thompsons’ role in UK labour history is long‑established. In 1926, the firm supported miners during the General Strike, and in 1937 represented trade unions in Wilsons & Clyde Coal Ltd v English, the case that confirmed employers owe a strict, non‑delegable duty to protect worker safety — a foundation of modern personal injury law.
A long history of leading asbestos litigation
Industrial disease — particularly asbestos disease — has been central to Thompsons’ work for nearly a century. The firm brought the first successful asbestos disease case ever heard in the House of Lords in 1972, a landmark victory that changed the legal landscape for asbestos victims.
Since then, Thompsons has been involved in every major asbestos test case, repeatedly shaping the law on causation, secondary exposure, insurer liability, and fatal claims. The firm also ran one of the earliest successful pneumoconiosis cases in 1956, establishing that employers are responsible where exposure materially contributes to disease.
Today, Thompsons continues to run — and win — more asbestos claims than any other firm in the UK, drawing on the largest register of asbestos exposure built through decades of litigation for union members and their families.
Modern asbestos cases and their continuing impact
Asbestos may be banned, but its consequences remain widespread. Thompsons continues to act for clients exposed in schools, hospitals, public buildings and domestic settings — far beyond historic heavy industry.
Recent examples include supporting Kathryn Murphy diagnosed with mesothelioma in her 70s after being exposed to asbestos at the Library of Wales, Aberystwyth during refurbishments during the 1980s and 1990s, highlighting the risks still present in public buildings.
The firm also secures funding for life‑extending treatments unavailable on the NHS, including immunotherapy, which has been transformative for clients whose compensation has enabled treatment that improves both quality and length of life.
Silicosis: modern crisis, proven Thompsons success
Alongside asbestos, Thompsons is at the forefront of confronting the rapidly escalating silicosis epidemic, particularly linked to engineered stone and high‑silica materials.
Key successes include:
- A six‑figure settlement (2025) for a West Yorkshire quarry worker exposed to respirable crystalline silica dust.
Thompsons has also led national policy pressure, chairing the Westminster APPG session (2025) on silica exposure and calling for a UK ban on high‑silica engineered stone products.
A legacy of law‑shaping litigation
Across industrial disease, Thompsons has led more test cases than any other UK firm, shaping the law around employer duties, causation, fatal claims, and compensation for long‑latency disease.
Historic work includes major test litigation against British Coal on respiratory disease and vibration injuries, and influential cases on COSHH interpretation and occupational asthma.
Continuing the Fight: Industrial Disease Today
In 2025, Thompsons led national calls at Westminster for urgent action on silica exposure, warning that a new generation of younger workers is developing rapidly progressive disease after only short periods of exposure.
As we mark International Workers’ Memorial Day, Thompsons honours all those who have lost their lives through work — and reaffirms our commitment to ensuring no worker is harmed simply for doing their job.
Remember the dead. Fight for the living.