In the recent Queensland decision of Coleman v Caesarstone
Australia Pty Ltd & Ors [2021] QSC 125, an applicant
successfully obtained a declaration that the Personal Injuries
Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA) did not
apply to his secondary psychiatric injury caused by his
dust-related condition.
Facts
The applicant, James Coleman, is a 35-year old man previously
employed as a stonemason. He alleged he sustained injuries as a
result of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica
dust during the course of his employment from approximately 2005 to
October 2018.
The applicant's primary injury is accelerated silicosis. He
was subsequently diagnosed with a moderately severe adjustment
disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, caused by and
secondary to the diagnosis of accelerated silicosis.
