Mesothelioma: symptoms, asbestos exposure and your rights
Published on Posted onMesothelioma is a cancer caused by asbestos, often from workplace exposure decades ago, though it can also follow exposure away from work, such as home renovations, working on old cars, or living with someone who carried fibres home. In Victoria you may be entitled to compensation even if the company has closed and even if you are retired, and these claims can be moved through with urgency where the material allows.
What mesothelioma is, in plain English
Mesothelioma is a cancer that forms in the lining around the lungs or the stomach. It is strongly linked to breathing in or digesting tiny asbestos fibres at work. The fibres can lodge in the body and lead to the cancer many decades later.
Common symptoms to watch for
Mesothelioma symptoms can be mistaken for more common chest problems. If you worked around asbestos and you notice any of these, it is worth getting checked.
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest or rib pain that does not go away.
- A persistent cough.
- Tiredness and unexplained weight loss.
This is general information, not medical advice. If you have these symptoms and a history of asbestos exposure, see your doctor, and if you would like to understand your legal options at the same time, talk to us.
Where the asbestos exposure usually happened
- Building, renovation and demolition work.
- Working with asbestos cement sheeting, pipes or insulation.
- Carpentry, plumbing, electrical and tiling in older buildings.
- Bystander exposure, such as washing a worker’s clothes or being around someone whose clothes carried fibres.
- Brake and clutch work (mechanics).
- Shipbuilding, railways, power stations and factories.
You can be at risk even if the exposure was brief and even if it was decades ago. You do not need to have worked directly with asbestos; being nearby while others cut or disturbed it can be enough.
Decades can pass between the work and the diagnosis
A mesothelioma diagnosis often comes decades after the asbestos exposure that caused it, sometimes from a short time on a worksite a lifetime ago. Because so much time has passed, people assume the records are gone, the employer is gone, and the chance to do anything has gone with them. That is rarely the case. Talk to us and find out if you have a claim.
When mesothelioma is covered, and how a claim works
Mesothelioma is an accepted asbestos-related disease in Victoria, so if asbestos at work caused it, you can usually claim. Where mesothelioma occurs together with asbestosis, it falls within a proclaimed disease, which means the law treats it as work-caused unless WorkSafe proves otherwise. You do not have to work out the law. Working out the proof is our job, not yours.
There are two routes. Where the exposure was at work and falls within the WorkCover scheme, the claim runs through WorkCover. Where the exposure was before 1985, or happened away from work, compensation is pursued under the Wrongs Act instead.
Read more on our asbestos and mesothelioma lawyers page.
Time limits on mesothelioma claims
You are usually still in time. For asbestos diseases the time to claim generally runs from when you are diagnosed, not from when you were exposed, so a long gap since the work does not necessarily bar a claim. Because mesothelioma can be serious, the safest step is to talk to us early.
Mesothelioma claims can be expedited
Where someone is seriously unwell, a mesothelioma claim can be expedited, which means the court can hear it ahead of the ordinary queue. How quickly a claim actually moves still depends on the type of claim, how fast the medical and work-history evidence can be gathered, and who the defendants are. Tell us if you are unwell, and we will ask for your claim to be expedited and push to get the evidence in.
If you have lost someone to mesothelioma
If a husband, wife, parent or partner has died from mesothelioma caused by asbestos at work, the family may be able to claim. This includes a claim the person had started, which can continue, and a separate claim for those who depended on them. We handle these claims gently and take the weight off the family.
You may have more than one claim. We check every option.
Mesothelioma is often only part of the picture. Depending on your situation there may be more than one claim available. Many people come to us thinking they have one claim, when in fact there is more than one.
- A TPD claim through your super, if the illness stops you working.
- Income protection, if you hold that cover.
- Early release of superannuation, in some circumstances.
- A common law claim, where an employer or asbestos company was negligent.
- A claim for your family, if the worst happens.
We look at every option from the start, so nothing important is overlooked.
You do not need a diagnosis to talk to us about asbestos exposure.
You do not need a diagnosis to protect your rights. If you know you worked around asbestos, you can register your exposure with us now, free, so the facts are on record if you ever need them. You can also just talk to us, free and confidential. Call (03) 8527 0200 or use the free claim check.
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