A man who died of an aggressive form of asbestos-related cancer was not eligible for substantial ACC compensation because he didn't sign a piece of paper.
MARK TAYLOR / STUFF
Former nurse Leonie Metcalfe wants all cases of mesothelioma to be covered by ACC, without dying patients having to try to prove how they were exposed to asbestos.
Mesothelioma – a cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibres – is a death sentence. As the law stands, both occupational exposure and accidental exposure outside the workplace should be covered by ACC. So why do dying patients have to dredge 40 years of memory to try to pinpoint where and when they might have been exposed? Nikki Macdonald reports. It was supposed to be a routine GP visit for a repeat prescription. The doctor asked Leonie Metcalfe how she’d been.