Occupational diseases and injuries not caused by accident

(1) Subject to this section, a person who is under this Act insured against personal injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment shall be deemed to be insured also against any prescribed caused by disease and against any prescribed personal injury not so caused, being a disease or injury due to the nature of the employment. (2) A disease or injury may be prescribed for the purpose of this Act, in relation to any insured persons if the Minister is satisfied that– (a) it ought to be so prescribed having regard to its cause and incidence and any other relevant consideration as a risk of their occupations and not as a risk common to all persons; and (b) it is such that, in the absence of special circumstances, its incidence in particular cases can be attributed with reasonable certainty to the nature of the employment concerned. (3) Regulations prescribing any such disease or injury may provide that, subject to any prescribed conditions a person who developed the disease on or at any date after a date specified in the regulations, not being a date earlier than the appointed day, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as if the regulations had been in force when he contracted the disease. (4) Regulations may provide for determining the time at which a person is to be treated, for the purposes of this Act, as having contracted any prescribed disease and where the person in had previously suffered therefrom, the circumstances in which any such disease is to be treated as having recrudesced or been contracted afresh. (5) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of any person to benefit in respect of a disease which is a personal injury caused by accident within the meaning of this Act; but a person shall not be entitled to benefit in respect of a disease as being an 28 injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of any employment if at the time of the accident the disease is in relation to him a prescribed disease by virtue of the employment in which he is engaged. prescribe