Introduction
This topic covers the difference between an occupational accident and an occupational disease, the principles by which a worker's capacity to work is assessed and documented, and how permanent loss of work capacity is expressed as a percentage that determines legal and financial outcomes. It provides the framework for the specific occupational lung diseases and other occupational conditions that follow in the course.
Definitions and comparison
An occupational accident is a sudden, short-term event during work, or on the way to or from work, that damages health. An occupational disease is a disease that develops as a result of prolonged or repeated exposure to harmful factors of the working environment or the work process, and it is included in the official national list of occupational diseases.
Diagnosis of occupational disease
The diagnosis rests on a combination of clinical, exposure and exclusion evidence. Key elements include:
- A detailed occupational history: all past and present jobs, duration, substances and dusts handled, protective equipment used, and illnesses among co-workers
- Workplace hygiene data, such as measured dust or chemical concentrations and previous health surveillance records
- Clinical, radiological, functional and laboratory investigations matched to the suspected exposure
- Exclusion of non-occupational causes that could explain the same picture