A retired mechanic has become the first person to win compensation for deadly lung cancer caused by asbestos dust from car brakes. John Booth, 73, from Pottsville on the Far North Coast, was diagnosed with mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos fibres from James Hardie brake pads and linings during his 30 year career.

In a unanimous decision, the NSW Court of Appeal yesterday rejected an appeal by two James Hardie subsidiaries, confirming for the first time that exposure to white asbestos, or chrysotile, can cause the incurable cancer, and ordering them to pay him $326,640.

In their written findings the judges said "the risks to health were foreseeable' and accused James Hardie management of deliberately concealing the risks because they were "concerned that a realistic warning might have a significant, if not dramatic, effect on the market for its products".

They found in 1953, when Mr Booth began his apprenticeship, the risk of ongoing exposure to white asbestos was well known to the company. "Hardies showed disregard for people over the years, they must have known it was harmful, but they continued to use it," Mr Booth said.

Diagnosed with mesothelioma in July, 2008, doctors told him he had five to eight months to live. Mr Booth has managed to defy their predictions after undergoing extensive chemotherapy.

Mr Booth said he hoped his battle might help others: "To leave a little legacy behind, to help a few other people, is about all I can do."

His solicitor Gerard McMahon, from Turner Freeman Lawyers, said the case was hugely significant for mechanics who had used James Hardie products. "It confirms that the white asbestos which James Hardie used in its brake linings causes mesothelioma, which always leads to death," he said. "It proves the company put profit before people's lives."

Victims' groups welcomed the decision, with Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia president Barry Robson describing it as a "huge win". Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national president Paul Bastian said the decision removed a "grey area" in the law.

"It doesn't matter what colour the asbestos fibre is, it kills," he said.

(By Tim Vollmer, The Daily Telegraph, 11/12/2010)