HONGKONG
A Hong Kong court has awarded us $24.5 million to an American musician, who suffered injuries after inhaling a toxic pesticide 10 years back during rehearsals at the Academy for Performing Arts. The payout is said to be the largest in Hong Kong for a personal injury case. Kristan Phillips, 47, had launched a fight after he inhaled the pesticide Diazinon on June 21, 1987.
Among the 80 musicians in the Academy for the Performing Arts, Phillips was the only person who got affected after the place was sprayed for pest control with the organophosphate chemical. He claimed that he was left with brain, neurological and cardiovascular damage and psychiatric problems. Apart from the Academy for Performing Arts, the case had also been filed against four companies such as Ciba-Geigy (Hong Kong), the Hong Kong Philhar-monic Society, Initial Environmental Services and Wong Ching Ho Co. All the five organisations have been directed by the Court to bear the cost.
Many such cases have been filed in Britain and the us by people who suffered during the Gulf War . Farmers in Australia have also filed similar cases as they claim to have suffered due to pesticides.
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