Simple hugs between a father and a daughter are contributed to the cancer that killed Deamma Trevarthen. Trevarthen, died in 2016, aged 45, was one of the youngest in New Zealand to die from mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer directly linked to asbestos exposure. The legal firm taking the case, John Miller Law, aims to pursue the claim as an accident relating to the inhalation of a foreign object, rather than the established route of a work-related accident. The case has the potential to set a legal precedent, possibly allowing hundreds of other mesothelioma sufferers to lodge a claim. Beatrix Woodhouse, the lawyer representing the family, said ACC’s appointment of a Queens Counsel to handle it was unusual at a district court level, and was probably an attempt to “stamp out” the case from the outset. The case is scheduled to begin in Wellington District Court in September.
Represented by JOHN MILLER LAW
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