They should also file claims with asbestos trusts or file lawsuits
By Larry Dandridge
This is the third and final article of three encouraging veterans and non-veterans to file claims with asbestos trusts for injuries, illnesses, and conditions caused by or contributed to by asbestos exposure. Veterans should also claims with the VA for military service-connected disability compensation for asbestos-caused injuries and diseases..
Asbestos is all around us
The people with the heaviest exposure to asbestos worked in industries such as shipbuilding, vehicle maintenance and repair, power generation, construction, insulation, and other sectors where asbestos’ properties – fireproofing, insulating, moldable, and cheap were beneficial. Asbestos is found in plumbing insulation, electrical box insulation, wall insulation, attic insulation, auto/aircraft parts (brake pads, transmission bands, heat shields, gaskets, clutches, etc.), personal protective equipment (gloves, firefighting suits, hoods, etc.), talc-based powders, electric blankets, heat resistant fabrics, some popcorn ceilings, clothes dryers, gardening products (vermiculite), hairdryers, ironing board covers, and hundreds of other seemingly harmless products.
Asbestos was used in military mess halls, barracks, waterproofing grease, boiler rooms, laundries, asphalt cement, asphalt shingles, firebrick, millboard, HVAC duct vibration dampers, jet engine exhaust cones, aircraft ignition systems, rocket motor insulation, gas mask filters, ammunition wadding, torpedoes, bedding compounds, aircraft spray coatings, and cockpit cooling systems.
Lung cancer risk is high
The risk of lung cancer among people exposed to asbestos is seven times greater than that of the general population. Read more about this on the American Cancer Society webpage at https://bit.ly/42kOIgu.
Eligibility to file a claim against an asbestos trust
To qualify for an asbestos trust payment, you must:
- Be diagnosed with one of several specific asbestos-related diseases.
- Have 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 years.
An individual is eligible for payment from asbestos bankruptcy trusts if he or she or a family member suffers from an asbestos-related disease and can document exposure to a specific company’s asbestos and asbestos generally. Asbestos bankruptcy trust sites are “presumptive” that you have been exposed to asbestos if you were present at that location.
How to file a claim against an asbestos trust
Veterans have two options for filing claims against the trusts:
- Either attempt to self-file via a multitude of complicated asbestos trust websites or mail-in applications or
- Use a law firm to help them file their claim. The asbestos trust claim process requires veterans to obtain military records and, if applicable, employment verification and medical documentation.
Many qualified VSOs, claim agents, and law firms are available to help veterans file claims with the VA. Many lawyers are also qualified to help veterans file claims for “cancer” with asbestos trusts and businesses.
However, veterans must carefully research who to use to help them because some charge much higher rates (after a claim is approved and paid) than others. Many law firms only represent cancer patients and will not help with less lucrative claims for non-cancer asbestos injuries.
How to find a lawyer
Finding a highly qualified lawyer that best meets your needs in filing a “non-cancer-related claim” with Asbestos Trusts may be more challenging than filing the claims. It was tough for this writer to find a law firm that would help veterans to file asbestos trust claims for “non-cancer-related injuries.”
Three Ways to find legal help
- You may want to contact your local Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, but I found them not very helpful. I also learned that many lawyers do not want to receive too many inquiries from veterans or
- You may contact the Mesothelioma Center, a free help center, at https://www.asbestos.com or 888-709-1298. However, they do not appear to handle non-cancer-related asbestos claims or
- Veterans may follow my lead and contact Clear Trust Claims (CTC) LLP, a firm specializing in non-cancer-related asbestos injury claims (they also do cancer claims), at https://www.cleartrustclaims.com, 202-449-7681 and 240-463-8503, and geoffrey.bestor@cleartrustclaims.com.
VVA and CTC LLP MOU
CTC LLP has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) to teach their Veterans Service officers (VSOs) about the hazards of asbestos and asbestos trusts. CTC charges nothing to see if you qualify for trust payments and receive 10% of a successful trust payment. CTC’s chief legal officer is Geoffrey Bestor, a past federal prosecutor, past Deputy Attorney General, and past Staff Director for the House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee — who is representing me in my claims against asbestos trusts.
The bottom line
If you are a veteran who served before 1990, you almost certainly were exposed to asbestos. If you have been exposed to asbestos and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, other asbestos-related cancers, or asbestos-related “non-cancer injuries or illnesses” or have symptoms of those injuries or diseases, you should file a claim against multiple asbestos trusts or file a suit with existing firms (firms still in business only) who mined, manufactured, or used asbestos in their products.
The Asbestos Trust Claim and litigation processes are separate from VA disability claims. Asbestos Trust compensation does not affect your VA disability in any way, and vice versa.
Sources of information.
- The Island News article of May 5, 2022, “Veterans can file claims against asbestos trusts, file lawsuits for asbestos injuries, illnesses,” by Larry Dandridge, https://yourislandnews.com/57219-2/.
- OSHA Asbestos webpage, https://www.osha.gov/asbestos.
- Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, https://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/asbestos.
- US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration Asbestos, https://www.osha.gov/asbestos.
- SC Bar Association – https://www.scbar.org.
- The Mesothelioma Center, https://www.asbestos.com, 888-709-1298, pateintadvocates@asbestos.com.
- Clear Trust Claims LLP – https://www.cleartrustclaims.com, 202-449-7681.
- An article by CTC LLP Chief Legal Officer G. Bestor, “If Your Doctor Has Not Officially Diagnosed Your Disease As Asbestos-Related,” https://bit.ly/3CcE017.
- Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos.
- An article by CTC LLP Chief Legal Officer G. Bestor, “Did you know that we are in a partnership with Vietnam Veterans of America?” https://www.cleartrustclaims.com/vva-agreement/.
- CTC LLP article, by Larry Dandridge, “Did You Help Build or Serve on a Military Ship?” found at https://bit.ly/4arVgfB and https://bit.ly/4hiqjMM.
- CTC LLP article, by G. Bestor, CTC LLP Chief Legal Officer, “Did you know that we are in a partnership with Vietnam Veterans of America?” https://www.cleartrustclaims.com/vva-agreement/.
- CTC LLP article, by G. Bestor, CTC LLP Chief Legal Officer, titled “If your Doctor has not Officially Diagnosed Your Disease as Asbestos Related,” https://bit.ly/3CcE017.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. 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.
