Asbestos exposure involves being accidentally or intentionally exposed to the hazardous substance in a personal or professional capacity. You might have been renovating a house as a construction worker, and your manager failed to mention that it contained asbestos, or you were renovating your own home and were accidentally exposed to asbestos-containing materials (ACM) that way.

If you believe that the negligence of others caused your asbestos exposure, you might be wondering what your options are and whether you can sue. Let’s look at the different situations below.

 

What Happens If You’re Exposed to Asbestos?

The problem is that we don’t know what will happen to you if you’re exposed to asbestos. Many people have been exposed throughout their lifetime due to unawareness of asbestos’s danger, and nothing has happened to them.

In contrast, some people were exposed just a few times and ended up with life-threatening conditions like cancer and asbestosis. There is no ‘safe’ limit, nor is there a ‘safe’ exposure number. As a result, being exposed to asbestos even once is classed as an exposure event.

After 10 to 40 years, the consequences of your exposure event can present themselves as an asbestos-related illness, such as:

 

• Mesothelioma

• Lung cancer

• Laryngeal cancer

• Ovarian cancer

• Asbestosis

• Pleural plaques

• COPD

• Pleural thickening

• Atelectasis

• Pleural effusion

 

Many of these conditions can become apparent when you experience symptoms such as:

 

• Shortness of breath

• A persistent cough

• Tiredness

• Pain when breathing

 

Can You Sue for Asbestos Exposure Due to Negligence?

New Zealand has the Accident Compensation Scheme (ACC), which saw the end of the need for people to sue for injuries that the scheme covers. However, if ACC doesn’t cover your injury and someone else’s actions caused it, you might be able to sue them in court for compensation.  

Due to the many decades that can pass between an exposure event and the onset of an asbestos-related illness, suing for compensation may not be a possibility. In that case, people living with such illnesses may need to approach ACC to find out what their rights might be.

While ACC doesn’t cover all gradual conditions, they do offer some cover for work-related conditions, infections, and diseases, that are caused gradually.

 

For your claim to be successful, you need to prove that:

 

• Your work environment or work tasks caused harm

• The characteristic from your work isn’t found to a great extent outside of your work

• The risk of harm is greater for people who do your tasks or work in your environment than it is for others

 

However, these requirements may not apply to asbestos. Specific occupational diseases relating to your work tasks or environment may only require proof that your job exposed you to a particular substance, such as asbestos, arsenic, mercury, or lead.

 

What Does ACC Cover?

If your asbestos claim was successful, you might be eligible to have a wide variety of your related costs covered, such as:

 

• Medical treatment

• Weekly compensation for a loss of income

• Social rehabilitation

• Vocational rehabilitation

• Permanent disability lump sum payments

 

But will ACC always cover asbestos-related illnesses? Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. In an Insurance Business NZ article, Auckland-based lawyer Philip Schmidt stated that an insurance provider had approached him after ACC refused to cover treatment for asbestos-related cancer.  

In the cases like it he had seen, Philip believes they were declined due to the medications not being on the Pharmac-approved list. However, ACC can still fund non-Pharmac-approved drugs as long as they fulfil criteria, such as cost-effectiveness.

An ACC spokesperson said all claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis, but Philip is calling on ACC to review the claims assessment process.

 

How Do Other Countries Do It?

Our system isn’t perfect, and many asbestos victims would undoubtedly say it’s flawed. So, how are asbestos exposure victims looked after overseas? In the United States, victims can hold several different people and businesses to account, and more than one person can be liable in a single asbestos exposure claim.

 

For example, victims might be able to sue:

 

• Mining companies

• Asbestos and asbestos-containing product manufacturers

• Employers

• Asbestos-contaminated property owners

 

Once they file a claim, they often seek liability compensation through lawsuit verdicts and settlements. We simply don’t have that option here in New Zealand unless ACC doesn’t cover the exposure event that leads to the sickness, and negligence by a person or party can be proven for that case to go to court.

 

Avoid Asbestos Exposure

As there is no ‘safe’ asbestos exposure amount, avoiding asbestos exposure can be the key to reducing the risk of asbestos-related illnesses. If you’re about to get a construction or renovation project underway, consider relying on the testing, removal, and demolition services of a company like Chemcare, which can take all practical steps to keep you safe.