January 15th, 2007

The family of an Australian man that died from lung cancer has been awarded $600,000 by the Western Australia Supreme Court. The man allegedly died from lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos, which is a known carcinogenic that can cause a variety of health problems including asbestos related cancer known as mesothelioma.

This is an unusual case according to officials, because there was no pre-existing asbestos related condition when the man died in 2002. Paul cotton was 45 years of age when he died from lung cancer four years ago.

Cotton is said to have been exposed to asbestos on a few occasions. He apparently laid James Hardie asbestos cement pipes in the 1970s, where he was exposed to the deadly carcinogenic. In addition to this, he worked at a chemical plant in Australia in the 1990s, where he is also said to have suffered exposure to asbestos.

The claim for damages was made against a number of defendants, which include the building materials manufacturer, James Hardie, the South Australian Government, and the Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Company.