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$1m legal win a landmark victory, sets precedent for WA residents
A landmark legal victory in the Supreme Court of Western Australia will set a precedent in future for asbestos victims holding a company responsible for exposure.
Naomi Neilson
Following the landmark victory before the Supreme Court of Western Australia, victims of asbestos exposure are able to have the company responsible fund immunotherapy treatments in advance, relieving them of fronting the cost for the costly procedure.
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The Supreme Court ordered James Hardie’s Amaca fund to pay a Perth woman more than $1.04 million in damages. It includes tens of thousands of dollars for the Keytruda treatment, an advanced immunotherapy drug not currently covered by Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
The case had also resulted in the long-awaited recalibration of how general damages are calculated, with Justice Rene Le Miere awarding a record $360,000.
The woman’s solicitor Tanya Segelov said the decision would benefit all future victims, providing compensation and access to advanced treatments: “Despite her own health, Christine Parkin took this matter to court knowing it would set a significant precedent for all future mesothelioma sufferers.”
Ms Segelov added that while WA continues to have the highest rate of mesothelioma, the fact that no cases had run to a judgement since 2011 meant that compensation arrangements were “lagging far behind other states”.
“This decision sets a powerful precedent to reset how general damages are calculated, as well as confirming that the companies responsible for the asbestos exposure are required to pay for advanced immunotherapy treatments, such as Keytruda,” she said.
