Former Gympie Nestle worker at centre of asbestos fight

WorkCover Queensland is pursuing legal action against the makers of a product it alleges led to two men dying from cancer after inhaling the dangerous material

A man who worked at Gympie’s Nestle factory for more than 30 years is at the centre of a legal fight over the cause of his death in 2018. FILE PHOTO

A deceased former Gympie Nestle worker is at the centre of a civil court fight amid allegations he and another man were exposed to asbestos while working with products created by Klinger Limited that ultimately led to the mens’ deaths.

The man, identified in court documents only as Mr Jones, was a maintenance fitter at the Gympie plant from 1961 to 1998, where he worked with Klingerit gaskets.

He died in 2018, from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer that commonly affects the lungs.

It is alleged he developed the disease from inhaling asbestos dust and fibre caused by the company’s failure to take reasonable care to avoid exposing people to “the risk of foreseeable injury arising from the supply, sale and subsequent use of Klingerit”.

Mr Jones was paid compensation by WorkCover Queensland after his diagnosis.

WorkCover Queensland is alleging the man, identified only as Mr Jones, was one of two who developed cancer as a result of inhaling asbestos in products created by Klinger Limited.

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The company launched action on behalf of Mr Jones and a second man it compensated, Mr Simpson, against the makers of Klingerit.

Mr Simpson was a former Queensland Government worker; he died in 2020.

Klinger Limited has pleaded its defence on 17 grounds.

These include that its products only contained chrysotile asbestos; it did not know inhaling this form of asbestos could cause mesothelioma based on the state of scientific and medical knowledge at the time; and it was not responsible for any improper use of its products.

Klingerit has defended itself against the allegations on 17 grounds, including that it could not have known of any possible link between the type of asbestos in its products and cancer, given the state of medical and scientific knowledge at the time.

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“If Mr Jones, in the course of his employment, made use of Klingerit as a packing material, Klingerit was not intended by the defendant for use as a packing material,” the company stated.

Klinger also argued the composition of Klingerit was such that it was impossible to inhale asbestos from the product if it was being used as intended.

The cases were brought to light as part of an appeal by WorkCover to have the cases joined, or heard one after the other.

Judge Nathan Jarro granted this request, saying factual nuances did exist in the cases but there were enough common threads in them to have them heard close to each other.

Originally published as Former Gympie Nestle worker at centre of asbestos fight