Asbestos and dust disease lawyers for Victoria

Asbestos lawyers for Melbourne and Victoria

Rogalski Lawyers is a Brisbane firm whose national specialty is asbestos and silica dust disease claims. We act for people in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, the Latrobe Valley and elsewhere in Victoria, and for families after a death.

Our other claim types, such as workers’ compensation, CTP, public liability, TPD and medical negligence, are handled for Queensland matters only. Dust disease is different because exposure histories cross state lines, and the claim needs to follow the exposure.

Victorian asbestos exposure has come from power generation, manufacturing, shipbuilding, railway workshops, the building trades and home renovation, among many other sources. Where the exposure happened, and who was responsible for it, shapes the whole claim.

The Supreme Court of Victoria Dust Diseases List

Claims for damages for dust-related conditions in Victoria are usually brought in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The Court’s Common Law Division has a Dust Diseases List, which manages all proceedings in which a plaintiff alleges they have a dust-related condition.

How the List works, in general terms:

• Specialist management. Judicial registrars set timetables, fix hearing and trial dates and hear pre-trial applications. Associate judges and judges deal with more complex applications and trials.
• A set timetable. Once the defendant has filed an appearance, the Court issues a timetable that includes mandatory mediation, a trial management directions hearing a few weeks after mediation, and a trial date.
• Efficiency. The Court expects dust disease claims to be conducted efficiently and without delay, which matters when a plaintiff is unwell.
• Regional sittings. Matters can be heard at regional circuit sittings if the parties ask for this at the start.

Provisional damages for asbestos conditions

Ordinarily, a damages claim resolves once and for all. Victoria’s Asbestos Diseases Compensation Act 2008 changes that for asbestos-related conditions. A person with asbestosis or pleural disease can be compensated now, while keeping the right to return for further damages if mesothelioma or lung cancer develops later. Whether to seek provisional damages, or a final award, is one of the most important decisions in a non-malignant claim.

Who a court claim is against

A damages claim is fault-based. It may be brought against a former employer, a manufacturer or supplier of asbestos products, a building owner or occupier, or a principal contractor. Where a company has closed, the claim may be against its insurer or a successor. The rules on claims against employers in Victoria are different from those against other parties, which is part of why the full exposure history matters.

What damages can cover

Damages in a dust disease claim are assessed individually. Depending on the circumstances, they can include pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, past and future loss of earnings, medical and treatment expenses, and the cost of care, including care provided free of charge by family members. Where a person has died, the claims available to the estate and to dependants are assessed separately. How these heads of damage are calculated differs between states, which is one reason the choice of forum matters where exposure happened in more than one state.

WorkSafe Victoria and statutory benefits

Where the exposure happened at work in Victoria, a claim may be available through WorkSafe Victoria, the state’s workers’ compensation scheme. A WorkSafe claim is no-fault, so negligence does not need to be proved.

Depending on the circumstances, statutory benefits can include weekly payments, medical and related expenses, impairment benefits, and benefits for dependants after a death. Where the exposure happened while working for the Commonwealth, the Comcare scheme may apply instead.

A statutory claim and a damages claim can often run side by side, but how they interact, including any repayment of benefits from damages, depends on the facts. TPD and superannuation claims can also be available where a condition ends a person’s working life.

Time limits for dust disease claims in Victoria

Section 23AB of the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) provides that no limitation period applies to a claim for damages for a dust-related condition. That covers a claim brought by the worker and a claim brought by the dependants of a worker who has died.

Victoria’s general regime for personal claims, three years from when the claim was discoverable with a long stop of 12 years, does not govern those claims.

Some practical points:

• The exposure being decades old is not, by itself, a reason to rule out a claim.
• Evidence fades. Co-workers become harder to find, and records are lost.
• Victoria has specific rules for dust-related conditions about what an estate can recover if a person dies, which can depend on whether proceedings had started.
• WorkSafe and superannuation claims have their own lodgement rules.

If the exposure happened in another state, that state’s law may govern parts of the claim, including time limits.

Silicosis claims in Victoria

Silicosis claims in Victoria come from engineered stone benchtop fabrication and installation, tunnelling and major infrastructure projects, quarrying, construction, foundry work and abrasive blasting, among other work. Silica-related conditions are dust-related conditions and are managed in the same Supreme Court list.

The manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs has been banned nationally since 1 July 2024. The ban does not affect claims for earlier exposure.

Silicosis can progress after exposure ends. Victoria’s provisional damages Act is specific to asbestos-related conditions, so in a silica claim the timing and structure of any settlement needs particular care. There is more detail on our silicosis claims page.

What to expect as a client in Victoria

The practical arrangements are built around you:

• We come to you. We travel for statements, medical conferences, mediation and trial, and we visit clients at home or in hospital.
• Phone and video first. The first conversation, and much of the early work, can be done without anyone travelling.
• Cross-border histories. Many Victorian clients also worked in NSW, Queensland, Tasmania or mining regions. We gather the whole history, not just the Victorian part.
• Choosing the forum. Where a claim could be brought in Victoria or elsewhere, such as the Dust Diseases Tribunal of NSW, we compare the options on their merits before filing.

The asbestos and mesothelioma claims page explains the diseases and the evidence in more detail.

How Rogalski Lawyers runs a Victorian claim

The lawyer you speak to first is the lawyer who runs your claim. The firm keeps a deliberately low solicitor-to-client ratio, so you can reach the person handling your file. Martin Rogalski, the firm’s principal, is a Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist. He has worked in dust disease litigation since 2008, with trial experience in the District and Supreme Courts of Queensland, the Supreme Court of NSW and the Dust Diseases Tribunal of NSW.

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

For people in Queensland, the firm also runs workers’ compensation claims and other compensation claims. Dust disease claims in other states are covered on our Sydney, Canberra and Hobart pages.

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