When James Wallner was a toddler, he and his brothers snuck into the garage of their Canberra home, and discovered a pile of fluffy building material laid out on a tarpaulin just begging to be played with. Fifty years later, he has been diagnosed with mesothelioma — but he is not eligible for compensation.
When James Wallner was a toddler, he and his brothers snuck into the garage of their Canberra home, and discovered a pile of fluffy building material laid out on a tarpaulin.
His symptoms had begun earlier this year, when pain in his ribs impeded his golf swing and gradually worsened over time.A biopsy confirmed the worst: malignant pleural mesothelioma. "I'd had 18 years of living in that house, with air vents, with cracks in cornices, and that loose fill asbestos was able to float down," Mr Wallner said.James Wallner's childhood home in Campbell was insulated with asbestos.
It then financed a costly remediation program to remove the asbestos insulation — but refused to accept legal liability for the potentially lethal mess."In agreeing to provide the support the Government is not in any way accepting liability for the present situation." However, the research indicated that was still a 2.5 times higher incidence of mesothelioma than reported in the general population.
"The reason mesothelioma patients need compensation is that it's a very expensive disease to have to treat," Mr Wallner said.Mr Wallner said he had undergone two rounds of chemotherapy, and his specialist said he may have to endure up to 10 courses in all.
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