Amaca Pty Ltd v Tullipan

Amaca Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Dust Diseases Tribunal. The respondent, Mr Tullipan, had claimed damages for a terminal lung condition, alleging it was asbestosis caused by exposure to asbestos from the appellant. The appellant contended the condition was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the trial judge had made an error of law in finding that the appellant's expert witnesses had conceded that the longevity of the respondent's disease established it was probably asbestosis, and whether any such error amounted to an error of law for the purposes of the appeal under section 32 of the Dust Diseases Tribunal Act 1989 (NSW). The court also considered whether an award of general damages was so disproportionate as to indicate the judge had not operated within the law.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge's characterisation of the expert evidence did not constitute an error of law. The judge's findings regarding causation were based on the totality of the medical evidence, and the court held that the award of damages was not so disproportionate as to be outside the bounds of the law. The court therefore dismissed the appeal.