Silicosis

Help when you need it most.

Here at Gordon Legal, our lawyers have decades of experience guiding our clients and their families through this challenging time by leading with compassion, understanding and the expertise needed to get results.

How can we can help you?

When faced with a silicosis diagnosis, your life can get turned upside down. Understandably, legal proceedings may be the last thing you wish to deal with.

Here at Gordon Legal, we believe in making this process as easy as it can possibly be. Achieving financial compensation is something meaningful you can do to achieve a sense of justice for yourself and your family in this incredibly difficult time.

It is really important that you lodge a claim as quickly as possible – strict time limitations apply to this area of the law.

Silicosis law is highly specialised. Our expert lawyers can help you navigate the system; take care of your case from start to finish, explain to you the steps that are involved and fight to achieve compensation as quickly as possible

Call us on 03 9603 3028 and talk to a lawyer today.

Inhalation of silica dust, particularly in larger quantities, can cause silicosis, a disease affecting the lungs.

There are three kinds of silicosis: acute, chronic and accelerated.

Acute silicosis causes symptoms such as inflammation, severe shortness of breath and lowered blood oxygen levels when high levels of silica exposure occur over a short period of time

Chronic silicosis develops after longer term exposure to silica, causing difficulty breathing, painful swelling in the lungs and lymph nodes

Accelerated silicosis can develop more rapidly after moderate to high levels of exposure, causing lung scarring, trouble breathing and inflammation

According to the Cancer Council, there is also an increased risk of developing lung cancer as a result of past exposure to silica. Silica can also cause other conditions like scleroderma which affects the connective tissues including the skin, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. 

It’s important to remember that not all people who are exposed to silica dust get sick. If you are worried about your exposure to silica dust, you should speak to your doctor to ensure that your health is monitored and that you get the support you need.

It’s also a good idea to get in touch with a lawyer as early as possible to get a better picture of what steps you can take if you’re worried and to find out what compensation rights you have if you become unwell. You can also register your silica exposure with us here.

What should I do if I’ve been exposed and want to bring a claim?

The most important thing to note is that there are strict time limits which apply to this area of the law.

If you’ve been exposed to silica at work, you should notify your employer within 30 days of receiving a diagnosis. Depending on the circumstances, most claims for compensation for silicosis are covered by the workers’ compensation scheme in your State or Territory and the time limits that apply for bringing a negligence claim depend on where and when you were exposed. Our lawyers can help you with any questions you may have about this.

Victoria Keays is Gordon Legal’s principal dust disease expert. She is an accredited lawyer specialising in asbestos and silicosis litigation.

Victoria has over 10 years’ experience in representing victims of dust disease, including silicosis and asbestos-related diseases. She is passionate about achieving compensation for anyone whose been affected by occupational diseases, and has represented clients all around Australia. She has been recognised as a leading lawyer in this area by Doyle’s Guide.

 Tess Dickie is an experienced personal injury lawyer with a background in Asbestos and Dust Diseases and WorkCover litigation. She is passionate about fighting for the right compensation for sufferers of asbestos and dust diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, asbestos related pleural disease and silicosis.

Tess also has a particular interest in the emerging area of WorkCover compensation claims for sufferers of non-asbestos occupational diseases and cancers, having secured compensation for workers with silicosis, lung cancer, asthma, byssinosis and leukaemia. Tess’s combined experience in WorkCover and lung disease compensation makes her the optimal choice of lawyer for silicosis claims under the Victorian WorkCover scheme.

Tess joined Gordon Legal in 2019, having worked in plaintiff personal injury law for almost 10 years.

Tess is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria, Australian Lawyers Association, the Mornington Peninsula Lawyers Association and Asbestos Council of Victoria/GARDS.

With combined decades of extensive experience working in asbestos litigation and WorkCover claims, our legal team are well-equipped to ensure you achieve the justice you deserve. We can investigate your claim, gather all the information, and handle all the legal side of the process. You can be as involved as you want to be – we’ll keep you in the loop when you need to be, and leave the jargon out of your way so you can focus on what matters most to you.