On 22 August 2017, Judge Russell of the Dust Diseases Tribunal
handed down his judgments in Dib v Amaca Pty Ltd [2017]
NSWDDT 6 and Londos v Amaca Pty Limited [2017] NSWDDT 7.
The cases were not related to each other, but had an important
common issue.
These cases have been keenly watched by the asbestos community,
as they contained the unusual feature of the plaintiff asserting
that he should be entitled to receive damages for the pension he
would otherwise have been paid in the "lost years" (the
time between his likely date of death, and normal life
expectancy).
Many of the facts in the cases, and therefore the judgments, are
unremarkable. The plaintiffs had no difficulty establishing that
they were exposed to James Hardie products, and there were also few
unusual features about the mesothelioma from which they both
suffered.
