Mesothelioma Risk Feared as Australian City Council Sued Over Asbestos Compensation

A city mayor in the Australian state of Queensland expressed his shock and umbrage at a lawsuit filed by a former subsidiary of the construction materials firm James Hardie, Inc., against the city council. The company is seeking to regain the money they paid out in a worker's compensation suit filed by the city years ago on behalf of a city worker who contracted lung disease due to asbestos exposure from materials supplied by the firm.

In this new legal action filed with the District Court of Queensland, Amaca Pty. Ltd., a former subdivision of the Australian industrial giant, has stated that the city council in the town of Ipswich was actually responsible for the asbestos exposure suffered by former worker Anthony Harry Cannon during various construction projects he worked on for the city during the 1970s.

Previously, the city had successfully sued the company on behalf of Mr. Cannon after he was diagnosed with asbestosis, an inflammation of the lung tissue that leads to shortness of breath and fluid buildup in the lungs. In that suit, Mr. Cannon received AU$195,000 (US$170,472) from the state's Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund, created by James Hardie in response to the rise in asbestos-based lawsuits, due to his work with sheet rock laced with asbestos fibers during his time as a carpenter from 1976 to 1978.

Attorneys with Amaca claim that the city council did not provide adequate training, education and safety gear for Mr. Cannon and other workers during that time period. Therefore, the responsibility for Mr. Cannon's condition falls on the city council rather than the company that supplied the material. A spokesman for the firm mentioned that such actions are "standard features" when it comes to the asbestos liability laws in Australia and that company attorneys will often file counter-claims whenever they pay out a worker's compensation settlement.

However, Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale told the Australian Associated Press that he finds the tactic "disgusting and disgraceful" as well as "un-Australian". He also said that such a case could open up a new avenue for lawsuits directed at every city council in the country that could have had employees who were exposed to asbestos at any time. In reference to a recent court decision that went against James Hardie Co. regarding widespread disregard for safe, environmentally-controlled disposal of the company's asbestos stores, Mayor Pisasale said that Amaca and Hardie should drop such suits and try to re-establish the public trust in the companies rather than "further destroying" their damaged reputations.

Mayor Pisasale also said that the city council would file a counter-suit against the company for failing to notify them of the dangers of their asbestos-laced products, as well as advising city councils in other areas to pursue the same tactic when confronted with such a suit. He also expressed his certainty in the safety measures instituted by the council at that time, although the true dangers of long-term asbestos exposure were not widely known in the medical community until decades later.

Sources: Brisbane Times, Austrailian Broadcasting Company

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