Society and not the health services decides for which diseases damages can be paid and which diseases may be defined as occupational. Society thus should also decide which change of diseases and other circumstances should be the reason to stop paying damages on account of occupational diseases. From a purely medical aspect it is possible to create various criteria for deciding whether the occupational diseases still persists. It would be however reasonable if these criteria would correlate with principles defined by society for paying damages on account of occupational diseases. So far this is not the case and the more issue of a medical decision that a disease not longer persists is of no importance for the patient’s demands for damages on account of an occupational diseases not for his opportunity to obtain suitable work.

        Key words: occupational diseases, termination of occupational diseases, assessment criteria, damages