Mesothelioma Cancer Awareness
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Mesothelioma news - Australia :Victim's family of mesothelioma cancer funds asbestos research
| Mesothelioma news Mesothelioma cancer victim's family funds asbestos research February 5, 2008 - 2:04PM source:news.smh.com.au The family of a man who died four months after winning a record $2.75 million payout from asbestos manufacturer James Hardie, has commemorated his death with a gift. Tim Lacone died last June aged 58 after a battle with the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma. His family has now donated $200,000 to a research fund established by his law firm, Slater & Gordon. Mr Lacone had reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with James Hardie on February 5 - exactly one year ago. Mr Lacone's sister-in-law and carer, Meg Bentley, wept on Tuesday as she recalled the pain he suffered before succumbing to the cancer. She said his death was a great loss. But before he died, Mr Lacone invented a revolutionary water saving filter for swimming pools, which his family has continued to develop. "He was a very caring person," Ms Bentley told reporters in Melbourne. "He had such an inventive mind. "It's a loss to everybody that Tim is not around any more." The $200,000 was donated to Slater & Gordon's Asbestos Research Fund, as Mr Lacone had wished. The firm donated an additional $300,000, bringing the fund's total contributions to $1 million since 2004. The first $500,000 of the fund has already been spent on a range of research projects. Lawyer Peter Gordon said advances in treatments and a possible cure for mesothelioma would be assisted if large companies linked to asbestos also donated to research. He said while some provisions for research funding were made by James Hardie and CSR, more was needed. "It's a mere fraction of the amount that is spent in compensation," he said. "I think that whilst Slater and Gordon and Tim's heroic donation are important, it doesn't really compare to the sort of money that would be available if these big companies, whose asbestos liabilities runs into tens of millions of dollars, were prepared to open their pockets. "We say to them, they should have another look at it." Ms Bentley said Mr Lacone's invention was currently at the trial stage with filter company Hurlcon. mesothelioma news Labels: mesothelioma news |
posted by icha at 1:17 AM
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