Occupational Diseases: Inventor Given Large Asbestos Settlement

Tim Lacone, 58, is a Melbourne inventor who was developing a swimming pool and industrial water filter when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in August. Dust from the asbestos-based sheeting made by two companies and used by Lacone to build a glasshouse and his own home caused the disease, according to Lacone's lawyers. Lacome says that James Hardie and Slater & Gordon manufactured the materials that caused his disease.

Lacone's life expectancy is only a few months; outside the courtroom, Lacone appeared fragile as he said he was satisfied with the $2.75 million settlement, but said he never could forgive James Hardie for taking his life. "James Hardie is a gutless, cowardly company which ran away from this country like a hit-and-run driver and left (its victims) dying a hideous death in the gutter," he said. "Slater & Gordon have been fighting the scourge of asbestos for over 50 years and unfortunately they will be fighting it long after I've gone."