Asbestos and dust disease lawyers for South Australia

Asbestos lawyers for Adelaide: asbestos and silica claims in SA

Asbestos and silica dust diseases are the firm’s national specialty. Martin Rogalski, a Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist, has been involved in dust disease litigation since 2008. That includes matters in the District and Supreme Courts of Queensland, the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales.

The firm acts for people in South Australia in claims about:

• Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen, caused almost exclusively by asbestos.
• Asbestosis, scarring of the lung tissue caused by asbestos fibres.
• Asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestos-related pleural disease.
• Silicosis and other conditions caused by silica dust.

Exposure can come from work, from renovating or demolishing an older home, or from living with someone whose work clothes carried asbestos dust. Asbestos cement sheeting, flooring, insulation and brake linings were all common in South Australia, as they were across the country.

The firm’s other claim types, such as workers’ compensation, CTP and public liability, are handled in Queensland only. In South Australia, the firm acts only in dust disease claims. The conditions are covered in more detail on the asbestos and mesothelioma and silicosis and silica disease pages.

What a dust disease claim needs to show

A diagnosis does not by itself create a right to damages. A court claim for a dust disease is fault-based, and three things generally have to be established:

• Where the exposure happened. Often this means proving conditions on a worksite, in a factory or in a home thirty or more years ago.
• Who was responsible. That may be an employer, a manufacturer or supplier of asbestos or silica products, or the occupier of the premises.
• That they failed to take reasonable care at a time when the risk was known or ought to have been known.

Most people are unsure at first exactly where they were exposed. That is the usual starting point. The history is rebuilt from employment, superannuation and tax records, union and apprenticeship papers, product records and the recollections of people who worked alongside you. Those recollections are sought early, while they can still be obtained.

A statutory workers’ compensation claim works differently. It is no-fault, so negligence does not need to be proved. In South Australia, one person may have a statutory claim, a court claim and a superannuation claim running at the same time.

The Dust Diseases Act 2005 (SA)

South Australia is one of the few states with legislation written specifically for dust disease claims. The Dust Diseases Act 2005 (SA) is aimed at resolving these claims quickly and without unnecessary formality. Among other things, it provides that:

• Claims are given priority. Dust disease actions have priority over less urgent cases and are dealt with as quickly as the proper administration of justice allows.
• Provisional damages are available. Where it is proved or admitted that a person may later develop another dust disease, damages can be awarded now on the basis that no further disease develops, with a further award possible if it does.
• Loss of capacity to care for others is compensated. Loss or impairment of the person’s capacity to perform domestic services for another person is a separate head of damages.
• Claims can proceed against insurers. If a defendant has died, been dissolved, is insolvent or cannot be found, the claim may be brought directly against its insurer.
• Earlier findings can be used. The Act allows findings on general issues from earlier dust disease cases to be used, which can shorten a hearing.

The Act defines “dust disease” by reference to asbestos: asbestosis, asbestos induced carcinoma, asbestos-related pleural disease, mesothelioma and other conditions caused by asbestos dust.

Asbestos claims in the South Australian Employment Tribunal

Asbestos dust disease claims in South Australia are generally heard by the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET). This surprises many people. The Tribunal hears these claims whatever the source of exposure, including home renovation, and whether or not the claim is against an employer.

The Tribunal’s procedures reflect how unwell many claimants are:

• Urgent listing. A claim can be categorised as urgent based on the claimant’s medical condition, and urgent dust disease matters are given priority.
• Hearings where you are. A hearing can be held somewhere convenient for the claimant, including at home or in hospital.
• Special rules. SAET has specific rules for dust disease cases, including how a matter is categorised as urgent.

Time limits for dust disease claims in SA

Under the Limitation of Actions Act 1936 (SA), a damages claim for a condition caused by someone else’s negligence generally has to be started within three years.

Where a condition stays latent for some time after its cause, as asbestos disease almost always does, the three years generally begins when the condition first comes to the person’s knowledge. It does not run from the exposure decades earlier. The court also has a general power to extend time in some circumstances.

This differs from Queensland and New South Wales, where there is generally no limitation period for dust-related conditions. Workers’ compensation claims through ReturnToWorkSA have their own lodgement rules. There is more on how time limits work in our guide to time limits for compensation claims, which sets out the position in every state and territory.

ReturnToWorkSA and other entitlements

Where exposure happened at work in South Australia, a statutory claim may be available under the Return to Work Act 2014 (SA). The scheme is administered by ReturnToWorkSA. Statutory claims are no-fault, so negligence does not need to be proved to access them.

In South Australia, workers’ compensation law may restrict some court claims against an employer. Where that applies, claims against manufacturers, suppliers and occupiers become more important. Which parties can be sued depends on where and when the exposure happened.

Other entitlements can include total and permanent disablement cover held through superannuation. The firm can review TPD and superannuation claims alongside the dust disease claim.

Silica claims in South Australia

Because the Dust Diseases Act 2005 (SA) is directed at asbestos, silicosis and other silica-related conditions generally fall outside its definition of dust disease. Silica claims in South Australia are therefore usually brought in the ordinary courts, generally the District Court of South Australia, rather than in SAET.

Silica exposure comes from engineered stone benchtop work, mining and quarrying, tunnelling, and cutting or grinding concrete, brick and stone. The national ban on engineered stone from 1 July 2024 does not affect claims based on earlier exposure. The silica disease page explains the conditions and how those claims are built.

What to expect as a client in South Australia

The practical arrangements are built around you:

• Travel to you. The lawyer running the claim travels to Adelaide or regional South Australia to meet you, including at home or in hospital.
• Phone and video between visits. Most ongoing contact happens this way, with family members included if you wish.
• Cross-border histories. Many people worked or lived in more than one state. The exposure history is rebuilt across every state involved, and the firm advises on where the claim is best brought.
• Trial readiness. The firm’s dust disease practice includes expedited hearings and matters run to judgment, which matters when a claimant is seriously unwell.

How Rogalski Lawyers runs an SA claim

The firm keeps a low number of clients per solicitor. You can reach the lawyer running your matter, and you are told plainly where the claim stands at each stage.

Every claim is run no win, no fee*. The firm does not use litigation funders. Legal costs can often be claimed in addition to compensation recovered, and interest is charged only on legal costs that remain unpaid. Disbursements, such as medical reports and filing fees, are separate and are explained in writing before they are incurred.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed, you can request a free case review or call 1300 848 424.