Australia

The respondent in this appeal, Ms Green, contracted lung cancer as a result of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace and her own tobacco use. She was exposed to passive smoking in the workplace for a period of about 26 years until she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002, and smoked somewhere between 10-50 cigarettes a day for a period of 17 years up to 1992. She was successful in her claim for workers compensation before an Arbitrator, who found that (among other things) exposure to smoke in the workplace was a substantially contributing factor to the contraction of her disease. This was an appeal from that decision.

The respondent insurer alleged that (1) there was insufficient evidence before the Arbitrator to conclude that exposure to passive smoking in the workplace substantially contributed to Ms Green's disease; and (2) the Arbitrator gave insufficient reasons for his decision.

In this decision, Deputy President Roche found that there was sufficient evidence for the Arbitrator to conclude that Ms Green's employment was a substantial contributing factor to her injury. However, Deputy President Roche agreed with the appellant that the Arbitrator gave insufficient reasons for his decision, and therefore remitted the matter to a different Arbitrator for re-determination.