Asbestos and dust disease lawyers for Western Australia

Asbestos lawyers for Perth: dust disease claims in WA

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 Western 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 respirable crystalline silica dust.

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

Wittenoom and asbestos in Western Australia

Western Australia has a particular history with asbestos. Blue asbestos (crocidolite) was mined and milled at Wittenoom Gorge in the Pilbara from 1943 until the end of 1966. The operation was run by a subsidiary of CSR, Australian Blue Asbestos. Crocidolite is generally regarded as the most dangerous commercial form of asbestos.

Exposure at Wittenoom was not confined to the mine. Tailings were used around the town, and dust was part of daily life for families living there. Many of the people who worked or lived at Wittenoom later moved elsewhere in Australia, and diagnoses connected to Wittenoom still appear decades later, often far from the Pilbara.

The townsite lost its official status in 2007. In 2022, the WA Parliament passed legislation allowing the State to acquire the remaining properties so the town could be closed permanently.

Wittenoom is only one part of the picture. Asbestos cement sheeting was widely used in WA homes, sheds and fences, and asbestos products featured in power generation, railways, shipping, mining and construction. Silica exposure comes from engineered stone benchtop work, mining, quarrying, tunnelling and cutting concrete, brick or stone.

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. One person may have a statutory claim, a court claim and a superannuation claim running at the same time.

Time limits for asbestos and silica claims in WA

Under the Limitation Act 2005 (WA), a court claim for damages generally has to be started within three years of the cause of action accruing.

For conditions caused by breathing in asbestos or silica dust, the Act sets a different starting point. Time generally runs from when the person has knowledge of the relevant facts: that the condition is significant, that it is attributable to the dust, and who is responsible. It does not run from the exposure, which may have been forty or fifty years earlier.

Two further points are worth knowing:

• Later claims for a further dust disease. Where provisional damages were awarded, no limitation period applies to a later claim for a subsequent dust disease.
• Workers’ compensation. Statutory claims have their own lodgement rules, which are separate from the court time limit.

Time limits in WA are different from Queensland and New South Wales, where there is generally no limitation period for dust-related conditions. That difference matters when exposure happened in more than one state.

Provisional damages in WA since 1 December 2024

Ordinarily, a damages claim is resolved once and for all. For dust diseases, that rule can leave people in a difficult position. Someone with asbestosis or pleural disease may later develop mesothelioma or lung cancer from the same exposure.

The Civil Liability Amendment (Provisional Damages for Dust Diseases) Act 2024 changed this in Western Australia from 1 December 2024. A WA court can now:

• award damages for the dust disease the person has, and
• allow the person to bring a later claim if a specified further dust disease develops.

The reform covers conditions caused by asbestos or silica, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, silicosis and dust-related lung cancer. It brings Western Australia closer to the position in New South Wales and Victoria.

Provisional damages change how a claim is structured and when it should resolve. That is a question to settle with your lawyer before any offer is accepted.

WorkCover WA and statutory claims

Where the exposure happened at work in Western Australia, a workers’ compensation claim may be available. WorkCover WA is the government agency that oversees the scheme. Claims are generally made through the employer and managed by the employer’s insurer.

WA replaced its workers’ compensation legislation with a new Act that commenced on 1 July 2024. Statutory claims are no-fault, so negligence does not need to be proved to access them. They run alongside, and interact with, any court claim for damages.

Other entitlements can also apply, including total and permanent disablement cover held through superannuation. The firm can review TPD and superannuation claims as part of the same matter. Working out which entitlements apply, and in what order, is part of the first stage of any file.

Courts that hear dust disease claims in WA

WA has no dedicated dust diseases tribunal. Damages claims for dust diseases are generally brought in the District Court of Western Australia or the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Where the exposure happened partly outside WA, the claim may be able to be brought in another state. Where it is brought is a real decision. The court’s procedures, how quickly a matter can be listed, and whether the claimant is well enough to give evidence all bear on it. Generally, the law of the place of exposure governs the claim wherever it is heard.

What to expect as a client in Western Australia

The practical arrangements are built around you:

• Travel to you. The lawyer running the claim travels to Perth or regional WA to meet you, including at home or in hospital.
• Phone and video between visits. Most of the ongoing contact happens this way, with family members included if you wish.
• Cross-border histories. Many WA claims involve work or residence in other states. The exposure history is rebuilt across every state involved.
• Urgency where needed. Where a client is seriously unwell, evidence can be taken early and an expedited hearing sought.

Relevant background on time limits is in our guide to time limits for compensation claims, which sets out the position in every state and territory.

How Rogalski Lawyers runs a WA claim

The firm keeps a low number of clients per solicitor, so the lawyer running your claim is the person you speak to.

Claims are 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.

To discuss a WA dust disease matter, you can request a free case review or call 1300 848 424.