Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit - Can I get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit?

People who are disabled because of:

• an accident at work, or

• in the course of their work, or

• who have certain diseases caused by their work.

Only industrial diseases qualify, for example, diseases caused by chemicals you have worked with or hearing loss caused by your work. The Department for Work and Pensions website has a list of the industrial diseases and the jobs linked to them.

You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to get IIDB. You can get it even if you carry on working or go back to work. It does not matter how much savings, capital or other income you have.

You cannot get IIDB if you were self-employed.

Claims for IIDB and extra allowances can be complicated and so before making a claim you should seek advice from a specialist adviser as any entitlement to the benefit and the amount you may get will depend on your individual circumstances. See 'How do I claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit? section of this guide for more details. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find advice in your local area,

How is it assessed?

A doctor will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage. Only the level of disability directly attributable to the accident or disease is taken into account. If you have an unrelated or pre-existing condition, the doctor will not include the effects of that in your percentage disablement. 

Depending on the extent of your disability, this assessment will last:

• For a fixed period

• For life.

You can be reassessed if the level of disability caused by your accident or disease worsens or when a fixed period assessment comes to an end.