If you are unable to work because of Lung Disease you may be able to make a TPD claim for a lump sum from the Total & Permanent Disablement insurance contained within your superannuation fund. There is no necessity for you to have been involved in an accident or to have suffered a work related injury to make a TPD claim. If you suffer from total and permanent disability, you may be able to make a TPD claim in addition to receiving your super early as a result of your condition. Our TPD claim solicitors can advise you in detail as to the requirements of a successful submission, they will prepare all relevant paperwork and will obtain full supporting documentation. Our super lawyers will give you advice on the likely success of your claim to a super fund, without further obligation. It costs nothing to use our super advice service.

Our TPD claim solicitors use a risk free no win no fee arrangement.

We have offices situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Darwin.

Lung Disease - TPD

The lungs normally take in oxygen from the atmosphere and transfer the oxygen to haemoglobin, sending it on to the bloodstream and onto the cells. You need the alveoli and cells of the lungs in order to make this process work. Lung disease can involve anything from damage to the bronchial tree, the lung parenchyma and the alveoli of the lungs. Connective tissue can become excessive in the lungs, which forms scar tissue that can damage the way the lungs work. Lung disease of all types is the number three killer of all diseases in the US.

As mentioned, lung disease can affect several areas of the lung. There are airway diseases, which affect the trachea or bronchial tree of the lungs. This can include emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. The patient feels like they are breathing through a straw and it is very uncomfortable. Smoking and allergies are common causes of these diseases.

The most common treatments of airway diseases include inhalers that are called beta agonists. They open up the airways of the lungs relatively quickly so the patient feels better right away. The other common treatment is inhaled or oral steroids, such as prednisone. Steroids relieve the inflammation of the airways so they don’t clamp down as much.

There are also diseases of the tissues of the lungs. This affects the structure of the lung tissue, causing scarring and inflammation of the lung tissue so the lungs don’t expand the way they are supposed to. This is also called restrictive lung disease. The lungs cannot breathe in enough oxygen and you feel short of breath or like you’re wearing something too tight around your chest. The lack of oxygen in the chest can make you look cyanotic or blue, feel tired and dragged out and have a lack of exercise tolerance. The treatment of these scarring diseases is difficult but includes steroid therapy and lung transplantation.

There are lung circulation diseases that affect the circulation to the lungs. This can include clotting in the blood vessels, scar tissue in blood vessels or inflammation of the blood vessels. When the blood vessels are damaged, they cannot carry haemoglobin to the alveoli of the lungs and oxygen transfer does not happen. It is difficult to treat this kind of condition and the treatment depends on what is going on with the blood vessels.

It’s important to note that many lung diseases involve problems with all three areas of the lungs. Common lung diseases to note are asthma, atelectasis (collapse of the alveoli of the lungs), bronchitis, COPD (most commonly caused by smoking), emphysema (also commonly caused by smoking), lung cancer, pneumonia and pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs).

Prevention of lung diseases involves avoiding allergens, avoiding exposure to asbestos or other dusts that can penetrate the lungs, exposure to smoke in the form of smoking or second hand smoke, exposure to fireplace smoke and control of allergies. If the lung disease is due to smoking, you need to quit smoking and expect it to take several years for the lungs to approach normal in function. If the lung disease is due to allergens, you need to avoid those things that cause allergies and you need to have an inhaler on hand to take whenever you are exposed to the allergen.

Some lung diseases respond only to transplant. This is especially true of scarring diseases of the lung parenchyma or blood vessels. This might mean a lung transplant alone or a heart lung transplant, in which the lungs and heart are transplanted together. It is not done in those people who are still actively smoking or who have disease that would be progressive even in the presence of new lungs.

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