Mesothelioma Litigation

An Australian man who spent three years battling manufacturer James Hardie in court has finally won mesothelioma compensation.

According to the mesothelioma attorney for William Booth, the man contracted the rare and deadly cancer as a result of working as mechanic from 1960 to 1983, reports the Canberra Times. During that period brake pads were often made with asbestos, the exposure to which caused Booth's illness.

Brake pads and other items were often made with asbestos as the substance was resistant to fire and worked well as an insulator. However, by the mid-1960s it had been proven that exposure to these substance could cause not only malignant mesothelioma but lung cancer and asbestosis as well.

The asbestos lawyer for Booth said that his client's case opens the door for as many as 20,000 other people to seek asbestos compensation from Hardie.

"Now if Hardie were successful in the High Court in the Booth case those [people] kiss goodbye to compensation,'' he told the news source.

The World Health Organization estimates that asbestos-caused illnesses kill 107,000 people each year around the world.