Quoted from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/brakes-on-asbestos-20100605-xlqz.html
Brakes on asbestos
MATTHEW BENNS
June 6, 2010
“I never, ever saw a warning”… John Booth. Photo: Steve Holland
A MECHANIC who spent his career working on asbestos brake linings has won a landmark legal case against manufacturer James Hardie after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.
John Booth, 73, told the NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal the disease left him with pain like ”someone is digging a knife into my chest”. He was awarded $326,640 in damages.
James Hardie is appealing against the decision, which could pave the way for a string of similar cases from mechanics suffering from the painful cancer that grows on the lining of the lung and slowly chokes the victim to death.
”Why is James Hardie wasting this money on court cases rather than trying to find a cure for the problem?” Mr Booth asked from his home in Pottsville, on the far north coast. The widower has been given a year to live.
”I never, ever saw a warning about these brakes. If there are no warnings, you assume the product is harmless,” he said.
