Smokers Win Right to Sue for Asbestos

Thousands of people stand to benefit from a landmark NSW District Court ruling that opens the way for former smokers to be compensated for asbestos-related diseases.

Union lawyers, Turner Freeman, ran a case that resulted in Judge Chris Geraghty awarding an undisclosed sum to the widow of a man who worked with asbestos at Cockatoo Island, in Sydney, for more than 20 years.

Previously, smokers had been blocked from compensation, because Courts had held their fatal illnesses could have been the result of inhaling tobacco smoke.

Judge Geraghty found that smoking actually made asbestos exposure even more dangerous.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary, Paul Bastian, said blue collar workers - fitters, boilermakers, sheet metal workers, electricians and the like - were the most likely people to have smoked and been exposed to asbestos.

"Cigarettes and asbestos are poisonous enough on their own," Bastian said. "But, together, they are a lethal cocktail.

"These people suffered horrible deaths and often left their families in poverty. This is a very welcome finding."

Bastian said the AMWU had already written to the NSW Dust Diseases Board, demanding a review of its litigation strategy, and a review of previous similar cases that had been rejected for compensation.

Medical experts suggest there are at least two cases of asbestos-related lung cancer for every case of mesothelioma. Yet, up to 2004, the Dust Diseases Board has paid out only 300 lung cancer claims, against nearly 1800 for mesothelioma.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:38 EST