Asbestos Legislation

A legal reform in Australia could allow the relatives of asbestos disease victims to have an easier time gaining access to asbestos compensation.

Under current rules, in order to gain such compensation the victim himself needs to start proceedings with the Dust Diseases Tribunal, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. However, the New South Wales Law Reform Commission is recommending that rules be altered to allow the family of victims to appeal to the tribunal up to a year after the death of the sufferer.

''This reform would allow the recovery of damages for non-economic loss in the limited number of cases where a victim failed to start an action in the DDT prior to his or her death, for example by the rapid progression of the disease or by reason of the stress associated with it, or by reason of ignorance of the law,'' the Commission's report states.

Such a reform would be very beneficial as often times asbestos-related diseases - which include malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis - are not diagnosed until they have seriously progressed. This means that often people don't receive a mesothelioma diagnosis or the like until they only have a short time left to live, making it difficult for them to begin seeking asbestos compensation.