Asbestos and Mesothelioma Lawyers
If you have been exposed to Asbestos, we will help get the compensation you deserve.
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a natural mineral fibre that was commonly used in the construction of homes and buildings prior to the 1990’s. In fact, about one in three Australian homes today contain asbestos. Asbestos was also commonly used in the automotive industry. The use of asbestos is now banned in Australia due to the severe health risks following exposure. For further information on Asbestos read our blog regarding the impact of its exposure.
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Who can make an asbestos compensation claim?
Many jobs within the trade industries are susceptible to contracting an asbestos-based disease. Some of these susceptible professions include:
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Mechanics
- Construction Workers
- Firefighters
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Miners
Zaparas Lawyers experts in asbestos claims in Melbourne
Zaparas Lawyers have a team of asbestos lawyers who specialise in these types of claims. If you think you or someone you know may be at risk of developing an asbestos related disease or you or someone you know has been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, contact us now for an obligation and cost-free discussion about your potential legal entitlements.
Zaparas Lawyers have successfully acted for many asbestos clients, including a number for whom we have successfully obtained the statutory maximum in lump sum compensation for pain and suffering for them.
Trust our family to care for you and contact us today for an obligation-free initial appointment.
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100% No Win, No Fee
We’ve seen how traumatic and life-changing an injury can be, so we understand how important it is that you don’t have to worry about the financial side of your claim.
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We are a family business – and we will treat you as one of our own.
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Who pays for compensation for asbestos injuries?
If you have been exposed to Asbestos or have been diagnosed with an Asbestos-related illness you may have a claim for compensation.
You don’t have to know where you were exposed, we can help assist and investigate that on your behalf.
You may be entitled to claim compensation for:
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appointments
If you can’t come to us, we can come to you.
Case
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We advocate for your rights and manage discussions with the insurance companies.
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updated
Our team will regularly update you about the progress of your claim.
100% No Win,
No Fee
In the unlikely event that we don’t secure compensation for you, we will not charge you for any of our professional fees.
Where is Asbestos found?
Unfortunately, Asbestos is still being found in building, manufacturing and automotive products which include:
- Old Cement Sheets
- Paints
- Sealants
- Fireproofing Products
- Roofing
- Pipes
- Brake pads
- Clutches
These Asbestos fibres may be released via drilling, cutting, sanding or otherwise breaking products that contain asbestos fibres. Illnesses often appear decades after the initial exposure. If you have worked or been near these products, it is possible you have been exposed.
What are the most common Asbestos-related illnesses?
What are the most common Asbestos related illnesses?
- Asbestosis (scarring and inflammation of lung tissue);
- Pleural disease (thickening of membranes around lungs); and
- Cancer including lung cancer
- Mesothelioma (a rare form of cancer than can affect the lining of organs including the lungs and abdomen)
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.
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.
Common symptoms of mesothelioma
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.
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.
- WorkCover (no fault to prove). Statutory benefits for your illness, including medical costs, income support and an impairment lump sum.
- Common law (where there was negligence). A larger claim where an employer or asbestos product company failed to protect you, run alongside your statutory benefits. Asbestos companies are often still answerable even when the original employer is long gone.
What asbestosis is, in plain English
Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs caused by breathing in asbestos fibres over time. The scarring makes the lungs stiff and breathing harder, the damage cannot be reversed, and it can keep developing years after the exposure stops. It is not a cancer, but it is serious, and it can raise the risk of other asbestos diseases later.
Common symptoms of asbestosis
Asbestosis comes on slowly, and the early signs are easy to put down to age or being unfit. If you worked around asbestos and you notice any of these, it is worth getting checked.
- Shortness of breath, at first only when active.
- A persistent dry cough.
- Chest tightness.
- Ongoing tiredness.
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.
Why an asbestosis diagnosis is worth acting on
Asbestosis itself is claimable, and acting on it now also protects you for the future. Having asbestosis means there has been real asbestos exposure, and in some cases that can lead to other asbestos conditions later. Getting your claim and your records in order now puts you in a far stronger position if anything develops down the track. In some claims you can settle now and keep the right to come back if a further asbestos disease appears. Lawyers call this provisional damages.
When asbestosis is covered, and how a claim works
Asbestosis is a proclaimed disease in Victoria, which means the law treats it as automatically caused by work: you are entitled to compensation unless WorkSafe proves your work was not the cause. So if asbestos at work caused it, you can claim. You do not have to work out the law. Working out the proof is our job, not yours.
- WorkCover (no fault to prove). Statutory benefits for your asbestosis, including medical costs, income support and an impairment lump sum. This pathway applies where the exposure occurred from 1985, when the current WorkCover scheme began.
- Common law (where there was negligence). A larger claim where an employer or asbestos product company failed to protect you, run alongside your statutory benefits. These companies are often still answerable even when the original employer is long gone.
If your exposure was before 1985, or was not work related, you may still be able to pursue compensation against the manufacturer, supplier or occupier responsible. Working out which pathway applies is our job, not yours.
We can help you
find out if you have a claim
When are you at risk of developing an Asbestos related illnesses?
Any amount of asbestos exposure poses a risk, although not everyone who is exposed will develop an asbestos related illness. Inhalation and/or digestions of asbestos fibres can result in an illness.
Exposure to Asbestos can occur at work, home or in the community. If you have been around products that contained asbestos and have developed serious health problems, it is important to seek medical advice.
It is also recommended that legal advice is sought in relation to possible entitlements to WorkCover compensation and/or entitlements through your Superannuation.
Zaparas Lawyers have a team of experienced asbestos lawyers that can help you make a claim for compensation if you have been diagnosed with an asbestos related illness. We have seen the devastating impact of asbestos related illnesses, not just to the affected person, but to their family and friends.
Can I still make a compensation claim if I have been exposed to asbestos at home?
Exposure to Asbestos is not exclusive to the workplace for trade workers. It is possible to encounter asbestos in your own home. Asbestos-related illnesses from home renovations are also possible. If you believe you may have been exposed to Asbestos either at work or at home, our Asbestos Lawyers at Zaparas are willing to work with you to aid in your compensation claim.
FAQs
Have a
question?
We have
the answer.
Asbestos refers to a group of naturally occurring minerals that were commonly mined and used in construction materials. When asbestos fibres are inhaled, they become embedded in the lining of organs such as lungs which cause inflammation and eventually tumours.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that affects mesothelial cells which cover most internal organs and in particular the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos.
Mesothelioma not only affects those who had direct contact with asbestos, such as miners and construction workers but also those who had indirect contact such as family members who handled the clothes of those working directly with asbestos.
Unfortunately, asbestos is still present today in many building and manufacturing products such as old cement sheets, paints, sealants, fireproofing products, roofing and pipes. This means people, especially builders, manufacturers, insulators, plumbers, electricians and even home renovators are still at risk of being exposed to asbestos fibres. This is creating a new wave of compensation claims.
Those exposed to asbestos in the workplace may be entitled to workers’ compensation entitlements including weekly payments of compensation and payment of medical and associated expenses.
Common law damages may be awarded to you if it is shown that the exposure to asbestos was totally or partially the fault of your employer or another liable party.
You could also be entitled to superannuation benefits such as total permanent disability claims, income protection and early release of superannuation monies.
The period between exposure and diagnosis ranges from approximately 10 years up to 50 years, with most cases being around 30 – 40 years between exposure and diagnosis. With new exposures to asbestos, claims for compensation will continue.
Yes. Smoking does not cancel a work-related mesothelioma claim. Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos, and we deal with the smoking argument regularly.
Usually yes. For asbestos diseases the time to claim generally runs from diagnosis or awareness, not exposure.
Often yes. Asbestos product companies and insurers are frequently still answerable even when the original employer is gone. Working out where the claim should go is our job, not yours.
Potentially, yes. A claim you have started can usually continue, and the people who depended on you may have a claim of their own. That can include medical and funeral costs, lump sum payments for dependants, and a weekly pension for a dependent partner or children. We handle this gently.
Often yes. Being nearby while others cut or disturbed asbestos can be enough exposure to cause mesothelioma. Talk to us and we will look into it.
No. Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs; mesothelioma is a cancer. Both are caused by asbestos, and both can be claimed. If you are not sure which you have, talk to us and we will help you understand it.
You lodge the claim against the most recent employer in time where the exposure increased your risk of developing asbestosis. Working that out is our job, not yours.
Not for statutory benefits. You do not have to prove work was the cause; there only needs to be a connection between the kind of work you did and the illness you have. The law asks whether the work gave rise to a significantly greater risk, and work does not have to be the only, or even the main, factor.
It is most beneficial that you bring all relevant documentation you have, such as completed claim forms, letters from the Insurer and your employer, medical reports, radiological investigations and any other documents that may be relevant.
Being specialists in personal injury claims, we know how hard it can be to navigate the legal process, but it can be even harder when English is your second language. That’s why we employ a diverse group of people who speak over 30 different languages to make the process as smooth as it possibly can be.
If we don’t have a lawyer who can speak your language, we also have access to a wide network of professional interpreters, meaning we’re here to help you every step of the way in a language that you understand.
When an injury is sustained, it is not only a traumatic and often life-changing experience, but it also often causes great financial strain to the injured party and their family. This is why for over 45 years Zaparas Lawyers has fought cases on a 100% No Win, No Fee basis. This means that in the unlikely event that we don’t succeed in securing compensation for you, we will not charge you for any of our professional fees.
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