The symptoms of excessive exposure to
asbestos manifest themselves after decades. So, even if a person were
exposed to asbestos during the course of their service tenure in the
armed forces, the symptoms of any asbestos-related disease would only
appear several years after they returned to civilian life. This
occurrence has led to numerous court cases featuring Navy veterans.
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| English: Mesothelioma of the left lower lung. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
There are restrictions imposed on
military personnel and their families who seek compensation from the US
armed forces, by law, specifically outlined on the “Feres Doctrine”.
Due to this reason, there is very little public information regarding mesothelioma claims for navy veterans. Although some cases have been
cited, there is no specific information available, and usually names and
dates are not publicized.
However, there was a recent case which
came to light, where a law firm by the name of Weitz & Luxenberg
managed to get a sizeable settlement for a Navy veteran from 26
companies who had supplied asbestos material to the Navy. The specific
details are not available, but the amount that the court instructed to
be awarded to the family of the Navy veteran who died in 2011 was a
total of $10 million.
Although Navy veterans are unable to
enter into litigation against the US Navy, it is possible to get a
settlement through the Department of Veteran Affairs, VA. There is great
activity in the in the area of VA compensation, and we highlight later
in the article the benefits that are available from this department for
Navy Veterans afflicted with asbestos-related diseases and how one can
avail of these benefits.
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| An aerial view of the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) in a graving dock at the shipyard Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 6 October 1993. Moored in the background are the amphibious assault ships USS Essex (LHD-2), left, and USS Tarawa (LHA-1), right. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
History of Asbestos Exposure in the Navy
By the 1970s, the hazards of exposure to
asbestos became known and its use was discontinued on naval vessels.
However, the vessels still continued to be used, and the Navy personnel
onboard those ships continued to be exposed to this hazardous substance.
This was further exacerbated during the process of renovation or
demolition of these ships. Boilermakers, boiler tenders and boiler
technicians were considered to be the highest risk group, due to the
excessive use of asbestos in boiler rooms.
Another high-risk group was the sailors
who slept in bunks beneath pipes that were covered with asbestos. Over
an extended period, these men would have inhaled very high levels of
asbestos.
High reliance on asbestos for building
materials during the early years is another cause for concern. For
example, residential naval quarters in Klamath County, Oregon were built
using a high volume of asbestos sheets. In 2011, the EPA declared these
quarters as asbestos contaminated.
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| VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Free Help is at Hand with the Department of Veterans Affairs
The US Department of Veterans Affairs has a dedicated Mesothelioma Center where VA-Accredited Claims Agents
are available to give free advice and assistance on Mesothelioma
claims. These agents are retired Navy officers, so they have a good
grasp of the ins and outs of VA claims with a specific focus on
Mesothelioma cases. These agents provide an effective bridge of
communication between Navy veterans, their families and the VA. This
speeds up the process of getting VA claims under way.
How do I file a VA Claim?
The best way to file a VA claim is to log on to benefits.va.gov and follow the steps to file a VA Claim. You need to follow the steps mentioned below, to ensure that your claim is valid.
- First, you will need to document your service, get your medical records, document any doctor visits you have taken, and ensure you have all your Navy documentation showing the ships you served on.
- Then you should seek one of the representatives at the VA mentioned on their website (above), or go to a VA Hospital near you to help you to file your claim.
- If you need help filing a claim, contact one of the Veteran Service Organizations who volunteer to help vets with their packet submission. Some notable ones are Disabled American Veterans and Wounded Warriors.
- Once you tried all of these and if you are still having trouble, you could always Google a mesothelioma claim lawyer to help you. But they don’t come cheap and will take a good chunk of your benefits over the next few years.
Social Security Benefits for Mesothelioma Navy Veterans
If a person has made payments to Social Security
and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, they will be able to get
Social Security benefits. The condition is, however that they should not
already be taking retirement benefits from Social Security. Several
claims are reviewed individually, but in the case of Mesothelioma, the
disease is considered to be severe enough to receive Social Security
benefits without much delay.
Mesothelioma Benefits from Medicaid
Medicaid
is another viable source of getting benefits for those suffering from
Mesothelioma. Medicaid is usually applicable to the lower income
bracket, but then, a major chunk of retired Navy personnel do come under
this category. Your VA disability and any other entitlement programs
you receive typically do not count toward your income when calculating
Medicaid income thresholds. The process for claiming Medicaid assistance
is quite similar to that involved in claiming Social Security benefits.
Conclusion
So, in retrospect, it becomes quite
clear that even though this deadly disease, mesothelioma manifests
itself literally decades after the last exposure to asbestos, there are
sufficient legal channels for getting assistance and be awarded a
settlement. Hence, Navy veterans who fall ill to mesothelioma and their
families should not lose hope, as help is at hand and by following these
basic guidelines, it will pave the road for a settlement.
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