Experts predict an influx of asbestos-related compensation claims after an ‘unusual’ recent court decision in north Queensland, Australia.
Rod Fraser has been awarded an undisclosed compensation amount by WorkCover Queensland after his brother Andrew died from mesothelioma followiong exposure to asbestos while working at the Prosperine Sugar Mill, Queensland, for six months in 1982.
Queensland Industrial Magistrates Court ruled that Mr Fraser and his wife and children were financially supported by his late brother, a finding that has been deemed ‘unusual’ by the plaintiff’s lawyer, as brothers are not usually deemed to be dependents.
The sugar industry is seeing an increasing number of people claiming mesothelioma compensation for exposure to asbestos, a dangerous substance that was often used as an insulator in sugar mills until the 1980s.
This is because the usual latency period between when someone is exposed to asbestos and diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma can be as high as 40 years. As a result, the number of asbestos sufferers is expected to peak in around 2025.
Cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related compensation have been brought in all Australian states including New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
