A former coal mine worker whose life has been “destroyed” by black lung has won more than $3 million in damages in a landmark decision by the NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal.

Craig Keogh’s case was the first concerning black lung – or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis – to reach judgment at the tribunal or any other court in NSW and Queensland, and it could pave the way for more lawsuits over the incurable condition.

The 52-year-old told the tribunal that at one site – Poitrel coal mine in Queensland – he alerted bosses to broken seals and windows that allowed dust to enter the cabins of vehicles he operated, but “nothing was done, so I stopped complaining and got on with it”.

He added: “It was just part and parcel of working on a mine site and the attitude was to ‘harden up’.”

He said at that mine, where he worked from 2008 to 2012, dust “would build up into a thick fog throughout the shift” and “I was often covered in dust at the end of my shift, and it would coat my clothes, hair and exposed areas of skin”.

He told the tribunal of similar issues at three other Queensland and NSW mine sites he worked at between 2013 and 2017.

Mr Keogh was diagnosed with dust-induced lung injuries in 2018. He has since struggled with physical issues including breathlessness, and mental health problems.

He has been unable to work and has experienced financial difficulty. He told the tribunal that “simply put, my life has been destroyed by my lung disease”.

Judge David Russell said Mr Keogh was “very distressed” that he could no longer work as a machine operator in mines. 

“Mr Keogh struck me as a man who had found his ideal job, and that job provided him very much with a sense of identity and friendship with fellow workers,” the judge said.

Mr Keogh won damages payouts from former employers CPB Contractors, Campbell Mining Services, Downer EDI Mining and Downer Mining Regional (NSW), which were found liable for his exposure to coal dust.

The payouts range from about $230,000 to more than $1 million.

See the judgment here.

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