In a case said to have worldwide implications, a grandmother dying of lung cancer has become the first Australian to successfully sue an international tobacco company.
Victoria's Supreme Court found British America Tobacco (BAT) and their lawyers had deliberately destroyed thousands of documents so that they could not be produced in court.
The judge found that the actions made it impossible for Rolah Ann McCabe, aged 51, to prove her case and struck out the company's defence instructing the jury to assess damages for pain and suffering and medical expenses.
Mrs McCabe, who was awarded about £250 000 ($360000; €400000), began smoking Escort and Capstan cigarettes (made by BAT) from the age of 12. “They knew it caused cancer; they knew it was addictive. I never had a free choice about smoking,” she said.
BAT will appeal the decision, which was made last month but suppressed until the jury decided damages last week. Mrs McCabe's lawyers said that the judgment could spark new cases from those who took up the habit as children in the 1960s before health warnings on packets began in 1973.
Todd Harper, executive director of QUIT Victoria, said the case was a landmark. “Rolah McCabe has changed the face of tobacco control in Victoria. It [the case] has major implications in Victoria, nationally, and overseas.
“Now any smoker who sues British American Tobacco Australia may have their case proceed to an assessment of damages without having to prove liability. ”
The ruling has caused the antismoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the federal Labor opposition to call on the government to restart talks about a public lawsuit against tobacco companies to offset the public costs of tobacco related diseases.
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NICOLE GARMSTON/NEWSPIX
Victim and victor: Rolah McCabe, who won £250000