Background
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a condition in which the
lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly
difficult.
IPF is commonly identified by a diagnosis of exclusion;
essentially a diagnosis of lung fibrosis of unknown cause.
The incidence of IPF is much higher than the incidence of
asbestosis, and has risen steadily in the UK in recent decades.
Current annual death rates of 6,000 are seen. IPF can affect people
of all ages, but around 85% of diagnoses are made in patients over
70 years of age.
Claimants who have been unable to establish an asbestosis
diagnosis (for example because they cannot establish an exposure
history which exceeds the conventional threshold of 25 fibre ml
years) are often re-categorised as suffering from IPF which, as a
condition of unknown cause, is self evidentially
non-compensatable.
