The James Hardie story: asbestos victims' claims evaded by manufacturer

Our plain-English summary of The James Hardie story: asbestos victims' claims evaded by manufacturer, by B. Hills (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2005).

The study

• Author: B. Hills
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2005;11(2):212-4
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The Australian government is pursuing legal avenues to bring to financial accountability giant asbestos manufacturer James Hardie Ltd., which has been responsible for vast numbers of asbestos-related deaths and illnesses in Australia and other countries, and has been attempting by unethical and possibly criminal ploys to avoid compensating victims.

In plain English

This article is not a research study. It is a journalistic account, published as a "Special Contribution", about efforts by the New South Wales government under Premier Bob Carr to make James Hardie Industries, once Australia's largest asbestos manufacturer, compensate people harmed by its products. The author relied on figures from other sources. According to James Leigh of Sydney University, Australia had already had 9,000 mesothelioma deaths, with another 9,000 predicted by the time the epidemic was expected to peak in 2020. Adding one to two lung cancer deaths per mesothelioma case, the author estimated 36,000 to 54,000 avoidable asbestos deaths. The author attributed about half to James Hardie, citing Dust Diseases Tribunal data compiled by a law firm. The author described how the company put $A293 million into a compensation fund and moved its headquarters to The Netherlands. A government inquiry led by David Jackson QC found the real amount needed was between $1.5 billion and $2.24 billion. The company later said it would set aside up to 35% of its operating cash flow for compensation, on conditions that were unresolved at the time of writing.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: journalistic commentary ("Special Contribution") by a journalist; not a research study
• Who was studied: James Hardie Industries Ltd and people said to have been harmed by its asbestos products: employees, tradesmen, home handymen and bystanders. Most are in Australia, with potential claimants in New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Exposure: asbestos products made by James Hardie, including asbestos cement sheets ("fibro") used to clad houses, brakes, water pipes and insulation. No specific fiber types are named.
• Main results:
  • According to James Leigh of Sydney University's School of Public Health, Australia had already had 9,000 deaths from mesothelioma, with another 9,000 predicted by the time the epidemic was expected to peak in 2020. These figures come from another source, not from the article's own research.
  • Using data from other countries of one to two lung cancer deaths per mesothelioma case, the author put the total at between 36,000 and 54,000 avoidable asbestos deaths
  • The author wrote that James Hardie was responsible for about half of this toll, according to NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal data compiled by the law firm Turner Freeman
  • Evidence produced for an inquiry showed the company had already compensated 3,000 victims. An additional 8,000 were expected to become eligible over the next 20-30 years.
  • Last year the board received 3,540 claims, more than double the figure of a decade earlier. Of these, 353 were accepted, and all but eight involved asbestos exposure.
  • The company's compensation fund held $A293 million. The Jackson inquiry found the real figure required to compensate victims would be between $1.5 billion and $2.24 billion.
  • The company said it would set aside up to 35% of its operating cash flow, which it said would amount to $A1.5 billion over 30-40 years. Others estimated the final figure at $A4 billion. Payment was conditional on cutting the share of settlements taken by lawyers and expert witnesses from 36% to 20%.
• The authors' conclusion: The author described James Hardie as having attempted, by unethical and possibly criminal ploys, to avoid compensating victims. The author wrote that final victory for the victims was not yet assured.

Related studies

• James Hardie asbestos victims compensation summary — Australian Council of Trade Unions (2008)
• Justice for asbestos victims and the politics of compensation: the French experience — A. Thébaud-Mony (2003)
• Global asbestos justice: South African asbestos victims win right to sue Cape PLC in U.K. courts — L. Kazan-Allen (2001)
• Asbestos law: victims' rights and industry's reaction — K. Asch (1979)
• South Africa asbestos ruling may bring flood of claims to London — Lloyd's of London (2000)
• The cost of compensating asbestos victims under the Occupational Disease Compensation Act of 1983 — F.B. Siskind (1987)

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