Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung diseases where inhalation of dust has caused interstitial fibrosis. Pneumoconiosis often causes restrictive impairment, although diagnosable pneumoconiosis can occur without measurable impairment of lung function. Depending on extent and severity, it may cause death within months or years, or it may never produce symptoms. It is usually an occupational lung disease, typically from years of dust exposure during work in mining; textile milling; shipbuilding, ship repairing, and/or shipbreaking; sandblasting; industrial tasks; rock drilling ; or agriculture.
Asbestosis is long term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest tightness. Complications may include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and pulmonary heart disease.
James Hardie Industries plc is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is a dual-listed company, being listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchanges. Its management team currently sits in Chicago, Illinois, United States. James Hardie has been named America's 100 most trustworthy companies by Forbes.
The mineral asbestos is subject to a wide range of laws and regulations that relate to its production and use, including mining, manufacturing, use and disposal. Injuries attributed to asbestos have resulted in both workers' compensation claims and injury litigation. Health problems attributed to asbestos include asbestosis, mesothelioma, cancer, and diffuse pleural thickening.
The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a range of tribunals. In its criminal jurisdiction, the Court may deal with all serious criminal offences except murder, treason and piracy. The Court's civil jurisdiction is generally limited to claims less than A$750,000.
Francis John Walker, QC was an Australian politician and judge. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Georges River between 1970 and 1988 and subsequently a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Robertson between 1990 and 1996, both for the Australian Labor Party. During his parliamentary careers, Walker held a range of ministerial responsibilities. He was the first New South Wales Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and was responsible for some of the first legislation that recognized the obligation to financially compensate indigenous Australians for the loss of their land. He has been given credit for achieving one of the first big breakthroughs in the protection of Australia's natural environment, the saving of the Terania Creek rainforest.
Occupational lung diseases are occupational, or work-related, lung conditions that have been caused or made worse by the materials a person is exposed to within the workplace. It includes a broad group of diseases, including occupational asthma, industrial bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiolitis obliterans, inhalation injury, interstitial lung diseases, infections, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases can be caused directly or due to immunological response to an exposure to a variety of dusts, chemicals, proteins or organisms.
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian social justice campaigner. He was the widely recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after either working for the company James Hardie or being exposed to James Hardie Industries' products.
The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state of New South Wales, Australia, includes merits review, judicial review, civil enforcement, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals and civil claims about planning, environmental, land, mining and other legislation.
The Compensation Court of New South Wales was a court in the Australian State of New South Wales. It had unlimited jurisdiction within the state in workers compensation matters.
The Honourable Judge John Lawrence O'Meally was president of the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales. He was the first judge to hear a dust diseases case in the tribunal after it was created in 1989. He was also Australia's longest serving judge, having spent 32 years on the bench, when he retired on 17 November 2011.
The Land and Valuation Court of New South Wales was a court which had jurisdiction to deal with disputes concerning crown land in New South Wales. It replaced the Land Court of New South Wales on 10 December 1921 and itself replaced by the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales on 1 September 1980.
The Workers Compensation Commission of New South Wales is a tribunal in the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in workers compensation matters.
The New South Wales Coal Compensation Board was a government body in New South Wales which had responsibility for determining compensation payable when coal in the state was compulsorily acquired in 1981.
The New South Wales Coal Compensation Review Tribunal was a tribunal in New South Wales, a state of Australia, which had responsibility for determining appeals about compensation payable when coal in the state was compulsorily acquired during 1981. The tribunal was in operation between 1985 and 1 January 2008.
The Police Tribunal of New South Wales was a tribunal established in New South Wales, a state of Australia to deal with allegations of misconduct by New South Wales Police. It was established in 1990 and abolished in 1998.
The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.
The Physiotherapists Tribunal is a former tribunal established in the Australian state of New South Wales which dealt with appeals and complaints of professional misconduct by physiotherapists.
Asbestos-related diseases are disorders of the lung and pleura caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. Asbestos-related diseases include non-malignant disorders such as asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, rounded atelectasis and malignancies such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.
The Bernie Banton Foundation was an Australian not-for-profit organisation founded in June 2009 by its’ CEO, Karen Banton, the widow of Bernie Banton AM. It was an Australian national mesothelioma cancer, and other asbestos related diseases victim support and patient related advocacy organisation, offering and providing support in all Australian states and territories.
