AMSJ » BHP ordered to pay former employee $2.2 million for asbestos exposure
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BHP ordered to pay former employee $2.2 million for asbestos exposure

Asbestos CancerBHP Billiton has been ordered to pay a former employee $2.2million after been found responsible for exposing the man to cancer-causing asbestos at their Newcastle steelworks.

The record payment was made to Steven Dunning who was diagnosed with terminal asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in 2010.

According to the ABC, “Law firm Slater and Gordon said the compensation payment was the largest ever awarded through the Dust Diseases Tribunal, which was established in 1989 to hear claims for damages from sufferers of dust-related diseases in NSW.”

Mr Dunning began working at the steelworks at the age of 19 and remained employed there for three years.

Speaking to the ABC, Slater and Gordon asbestos lawyer Joanne Wade said, “This is a landmark decision in New South Wales.”

“The damages awarded today are the highest ever awarded [by the tribunal] in New South Wales and it’s the first time BHP has been ordered by the Dust Diseases Tribunal to pay compensation to a former employee who was exposed to asbestos as their Newcastle steelworks.”

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