A former waiter who worked in one of Crown Resorts’ casino rooms for high rollers for nearly a decade has died from lung cancer just weeks before his negligence case against the gaming giant was set to be heard by the courts.

Dien Nguyen launched legal action against Crown in August after he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and alleged his exposure to smoke throughout his nine-year tenure working at Crown Melbourne’s “heavily contaminated” gaming floors had caused or contributed to this diagnosis.

His lawyer, Arnold, Thomas and Becker managing principal Lee Flanagan confirmed the two claims would be pursued by Nguyen’s family.

“We knew Nguyen’s work at Crown casino would eventually cost him his life, but the timing of his death was unexpected. Crown casino and the state government were aware of the risks of tobacco smoke causing cancer, but nonetheless, willingly exposed workers to this risk,” Flanagan said.