Darryl Brooks sues five Qld councils over alleged asbestos exposure

A former council worker who dedicated his career to protecting the environment is now suing five of the state’s local authorities for more than $1.2 million.

Former Queensland council environment worker Darryl Brooks is suing five of his former employers for more than $1.2 million in damages claiming they breached their own duties of care to keep him safe, and now he is paying the ultimate price for it.

For 20 years Darryl Brooks dedicated his time to helping keep Queensland clean and safe as an employee of multiple local councils.

Now the 57-year-old is suing five of his former employers for more than $1.2 million in damages, claiming they breached their own duties of care to keep him safe, which he was now paying the ultimate price for.

Mr Brooks has launched action in the Brisbane Supreme Court alleging the Banana Shire, Mackay Regional, Somerset Regional, Bundaberg Regional, and South Burnett Regional councils failed their duty of care by exposing him to asbestos over his 19 years of employment with the organisations.

He worked for the five councils from January 1988 to July 2007, the lodged statement of claim by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said.

Former Queensland council environment worker Darryl Brooks is suing five of his former employers for more than $1.2 million in damages claiming they breached their own duties of care to keep him safe, and now he is paying the ultimate price for it.

Mr Brooks was employed as an environmental health officer at four of those councils, and an environment and health director at the South Burnett council.

All five councils have notified the court they will defend the claim.

The claim said Mr Brooks now suffered from pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer that grows in the membranes of the chest and lungs and left him in “significant” pain.

He alleged it was contracted through his job, which required him to inspect tips and illegal dumping across the council areas.

Mr Brooks said in a statement on Thursday he became aware of his symptoms in late 2023, and was diagnosed in 2024.

“Initially, I spent a lot of time in hospital as they weren’t able to diagnose what was wrong with me,” he said.

It was a diagnosis that “turns your life upside down”.

“I had to cease work, it’s impacted what I can do around the house and my quality of life,” Mr Brooks said.

The future was now uncertain and he was living life “in three month blocks”.

Former Queensland council environment worker Darryl Brooks alleged the five councils failed in their duty of care to properly protect him from asbestos exposure throughout his career, leading to him developing mesothelioma. Photo Patrick Gorbunovs / The Northern Star

“Whilst at the moment the disease is stable, it could progress to another part of my body, and I will then have to undergo further treatments.

“Or the cancer develops such in the peritoneal cavity and then I would need to go on chemotherapy treatment for the second time.”

Since his diagnosis he had “undergone biopsies, four or five drains of the fluid in my stomach, and six rounds of chemotherapy, done every three weeks”.

“Physically I live with fatigue, and the frustration of not being able to do things I used to do.

“Mentally, you are processing everything, processing what the prognosis is, not knowing how much longer you have left, or what quality of life you have left.

“With things like Christmas coming up, you just don’t know if this will be your last or if you will have a few more.”

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The claim lodged with Queensland’s Supreme Court said Mr Brooks was required to pick up, inspect, carry, and handle materials including asbestos sheeting, corrugated asbestos sheeting, asbestos half-pipe mouldings as part of his jobs with the councils. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Mr Brooks said he lost his son to leukaemia in 2022, and now his daughter faced losing her dad to cancer too.

He was worried more people were going to find themselves in his situation unless things changed swiftly.

“There needs to be ongoing awareness and education on the risks to asbestos exposure,” Mr Brooks said.

“I am very concerned about people doing home renovations and whether they are able to identify asbestos materials and where they can be present, it’s more than just the old plasterboard; it can be in pipes, or in tiles.”

The lodged claim said Mr Brooks was required to pick up, inspect, carry, and handle materials including asbestos sheeting, corrugated asbestos sheeting, asbestos half-pipe mouldings as part of his jobs with the councils.

He worked near staff who crushed, broke and smashed these materials, too, and was required to work “in an environment that had been contaminated by asbestos dust and fibre”.

This led to him developing condition from breathing in the toxic fibres.

He alleged the five councils should have known he was working with asbestos and failed to provide a safe workplace or protective clothing, including respiratory devices, or provide dust extraction equipment on sites. It was further alleged the councils failed to warn Mr Brooks he would be dealing with asbestos, failed to have experts investigate the dangers employees might be exposed to by the materials, and did not warn him of the health hazards posed by the dust.

The five councils all declined to comment further as the matter was before the courts.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jonathan Walsh, who is acting for Mr Brooks, said the community needed to remain “vigilant” in raising awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

“This year over 4000 Australians will die from an asbestos illness,” Mr Walsh said.

“Cases like Darryl’s are all too frequent.”

Originally published as Darryl Brooks sues five Qld councils over alleged asbestos exposure