Veterans should file claim with the VA — and claims with Asbestos Trusts or lawsuits
By Larry Dandridge
This is article two of three encouraging veterans and non-veterans (and their families) to file claims with asbestos trusts for injuries, illnesses, and conditions caused by or contributed to by asbestos exposure. Veterans are also encouraged to file claims with the VA for military service-connected disability compensation for asbestos-caused injuries, illnesses, diseases, and conditions.
Veterans who served before 1990 are at high risk of asbestos injuries
While most veterans are aware of the option to file a claim with the VA for a military service-connected disability caused by asbestos exposure, it is essential to note that the VA Claims process is a separate process from filing claims against asbestos trusts and lawsuits. This distinction is crucial for veterans (and non-veterans) to understand as they navigate their options for claims against asbestos trusts and lawsuits.
Urgent appeal to veterans to file claims with Asbestos Trusts
Good news: Veterans (and non-veterans) can receive compensation from the manufacturers of the asbestos-containing products they were exposed to. Currently, there are more than 70 asbestos bankruptcy settlement trusts, with billions of dollars set aside to compensate workers (veterans and non-veterans) injured by their products. More than $30 billion resides in the trust system today.
More good news: Veterans and non-veterans do not have to prove their injuries were caused by asbestos exposure in an asbestos trust claim; they only need to prove that asbestos was a contributing cause of the veteran’s disease. Veterans and non-veterans can establish their exposure simply by showing that they served at one of the thousands of locations (including Navy/Army ships/vessels and military bases) on the trusts’ site lists. For example, a veteran or non-veteran who worked at the Charleston, S.C., Navy Yard could file claims against 15 different Asbestos Trusts for any cancerous or non-cancerous injuries caused by asbestos if they:
- Are diagnosed with one of several specific asbestos-related diseases.
- Spent at least six months exposed to the specific trust company’s asbestos and
- Have been exposed to asbestos from any source for at least five cumulative years.
Description of the Asbestos Trust System
The Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust System: Today, thousands of veterans are suffering from life-threatening illnesses caused by years of asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a material that was commonly used in hundreds of military applications, products, and ships because of its heat resistance, insulating properties, and ease of use.
Widespread military use: Every branch of the military used asbestos products during the 20th century, causing high rates of asbestos-related cancers and non-cancer injuries among veterans today. The timing of these high rates of injuries and claims is due to the latent nature of asbestos-related diseases, in which the manifestation of the disease can occur sevent to 40 years or more after exposure.
Eligible veterans can receive compensation from Asbestos Trusts: Veterans can receive compensation from the manufacturers of the asbestos-containing products they were exposed to. Currently, there are around 70 asbestos bankruptcy settlement trusts, with billions of dollars set aside to compensate workers (veterans and non-veterans) injured by their products. Today, more than $30 billion in assets reside in the trust system.
History of Asbestos Trusts: Before the 1980s, asbestos was used everywhere in the country. In the 1980s, companies mining, manufacturing, and using asbestos faced tens of thousands of lawsuits in court. In 1994, Congress passed an amendment to bankruptcy law that allowed companies to set up asbestos trusts to compensate asbestos victims and spare the companies further lawsuits.
Vets only need to prove that asbestos was a contributing cause: Veterans do not have to prove their injuries were caused by asbestos exposure in an asbestos trust claim; they only need to prove that asbestos was a contributing cause of the veteran’s disease. Veterans can establish their exposure simply by showing that they served at locations (including Navy ships and boats or Army vessels) on the extensive site lists maintained by the trusts.
Multiple Asbestos Trusts: Veterans eligible to file a claim against an asbestos trust can file claims with multiple trusts and receive separate payments from each trust when their claim is approved. Because veterans’ exposure is presumed for any site listed on the Approved Asbestos Trust Site Lists, veterans are often awarded thousands of dollars for non-cancer-related injuries and potentially six-figure amounts for cancer injuries.
Trusts are set up on a model similar to Medicare: Congress has allowed companies that mined asbestos and manufactured asbestos products to declare bankruptcy and set up Asbestos Trusts with billions of dollars in over 70 trusts. Those bankrupt companies can no longer be sued in court, and claimants must file a claim with the asbestos trusts that apply to them. If a claimant meets the eligibility requirements, he or she gets paid. No adversary litigation, discovery, depositions, or courts are involved in claims against asbestos trusts. Eligibility is determined by the information and documentation submitted by the claimant, and if the claimant can check the required boxes, he or she gets paid.
Thousands of military bases and sites are on Approved Asbestos Trust Site Lists: For example, during this writer’s 24-year Army career, I was stationed, among other places, at Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), Fort Eustis (now Joint Base Langley-Eustis), Hunter Army Airfield, Sierra Army Depot, and Patch Barracks in Germany. Each of these locations is on one or more Approved Asbestos Site Lists.
Veterans are especially at high risk for asbestos injuries: Veterans make up about 30 percent of all people diagnosed with mesothelioma who asbestos trusts have paid. Veterans from every branch of military service who served before the late 1980s are at high risk of asbestos injuries. Veterans who served as aircraft, wheeled, and tracked vehicle mechanics, who served in navy jobs, and other maintenance specialties were at the highest risk for asbestos exposure. However, every veteran from that era had some degree of asbestos exposure. Before the 1980s, the military (and industry) had weak hazardous material handling programs and few Hazardous Material Data Sheets
Continued next week.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Col. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is also the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.
