VA service-connected disability claims and asbestos trust claims for asbestos exposure-caused
By Larry Dandridge
Many veterans do not know the following 28 facts (Continued from last week):
8. 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 “contributed to the veteran’s disease.”
*Note: This is a principle often cited in asbestos trust litigation. It reflects a legal standard that allows veterans to recover benefits under certain asbestos trust funds without having to establish a direct, sole-cause link between their illness and asbestos exposure.
9. Veterans and non-veterans, in an Asbestos Trust Claim, can establish their exposure simply by showing that they served at one of the thousands of locations (including Navy/Army ships/boats/vessels and military bases) listed on the trusts’ site list. Unlike the VA, which requires direct evidence of in-service asbestos exposure plus a medical nexus, asbestos trusts often accept the site list as sufficient proof of exposure. See All About Seniors Lowcountry Magazine article, by W.L. Dandridge, dated Dec. 31, 2025, “Senior Veterans and Senior Non-veterans are Missing Out on Tens of Thousands of $$$$ in Asbestos Trust Claim Awards!” at https://bit.ly/4db4H5D.
10. Veterans eligible to file a claim with an asbestos trust can file claims with “multiple trusts” and receive separate payments from each trust when their claim is approved. Veterans are often awarded thousands of dollars for non-cancer-related injuries and six-figure amounts for cancer injuries. Most law firms will not take on less lucrative claims for non-cancer injuries because profitability and case volume are heavily tied to high-value, high-intent cases. Learn more in the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report GAO-11-819 titled “Asbestos injury compensation” dated September 2011 at https://bit.ly/3VkeYGq and the Claims Journal article “Tackling The Growth Threat of Legal Abuse,” dated May 22, 2026, by Alena Kharkavets and Dale Porillo, at https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2026/05/22/337462.htm.
11. If the VA denies a veteran’s service-connection claim for asbestos-related compensation, the veteran can (and should) still file with the Trusts. Learn more in the three articles by W.L. Dandridge dated Jan. 8, 15, and 22, 2025, at https://bit.ly/4rDHD5t, https://bit.ly/4d75eFJ, and https://bit.ly/4ylEXMv.
12. VA-accredited Veterans Service Officers (VSOs), claim agents, and law firms can help veterans file claims with the VA. Many lawyers are also qualified and willing to help veterans file claims for cancer but not non-cancer injuries/disease with asbestos trusts and businesses. Veterans must carefully research whom to use to help them because some charge much higher rates (30% to 40% after a claim is approved and paid) than others, and many law firms only represent cancer patients. Most law firms will not help with less lucrative claims for non-cancer injuries. Learn more at the VA’s webpage “How to File a VA Disability Claim” at https://bit.ly/4z1qPYD;
13. The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Clear Trust Claims (CTC) LLP to train and educate their VSOs to identify veterans eligible for asbestos trust compensation. CTC provides educational information about trusts through VVA and is available to deliver talks or webinars at local VVA chapters. CTC will train and educate any Veteran Servcie Organizations’ VSOs on asbestos history, risks, trusts, trust claims, and lawsuits for FREE. Learn more from the VVA article titled “Non-VA Compensation for Asbestos Diseases-VVA Agreement with CTC LLP To Assist Veterans In Obtaining Compensation” at https://vva.org/news/non-va-compensation-for-asbestos-diseases/.
14. Veterans and their VSOs should not assume that the VA knows how a veteran was exposed to asbestos. Veterans must include detailed information (including Lay Witness Statements) on what, where, when, and how the veteran was exposed while unprotected with PPE, no MSDS, no HAZMAT Handling training, and in jobs that are in and out of MOS, duty locations, ships, and specific equipment. Learn much more in the four YouTube Videos by Asbestos.com, Mesothelioma Center, by Veterans Director A. Munz, Parts 1 through 4: Titled VA Asbestos Related Claims, “How to Help VSOs in their Communities With Asbestos Related Service-Connection Claims.”
- Part 1 is “Components of Asbestos Diseases” at https://bit.ly/4htwqzw.
- Part 2 is “Asbestos Decision Criteria” at https://bit.ly/3TPxtSK.
- Part 3 is “Nexus Statements for Asbestos Diseases” at https://bit.ly/3TUNUgD.
- Part 4 is “Asbestos Exposure Summaries” at https://bit.ly/3TnZNvp.
15. Veterans and their VSOs should submit Lay Witness Statements and pictures of asbestos exposure and equipment when available with service-connected disability claims. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4ABMF6C and in the three The Island News articles dated April 23, April 30, and May 7, 2025 at https://bit.ly/4jpRqtE, https://bit.ly/4rxpp5o, and https://bit.ly/46OHTVC.
16. The VA raters have a list of job ratings with probability of asbestos exposure, but the VA raters do not know what jobs veterans actually performed, which are frequently outside of their MOS. VA raters do not know about Sergeant Majors’ special details or assignments and other such assignments. The VA’s adjudication procedures manual M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iii.7.C.1.b, MOS List and Occupational Exposure Information provides Navy MOSs and guidance to VA raters. See M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iii, Chapter 7, Section C – Evaluating Evidence of Asbestos Exposure at https://bit.ly/4hhElBq.
If you have the symptoms of an asbestos exposed disease or injury:
- See a doctor with experience in asbestos diseases and injuries.
- Ask a VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), who knows about asbestos caused VA service-connected disability claims and Asbestos.com’s FREE HELP CENTER at veteranoutreach@asbestos.com, Phone: 888-327-8271, and to help you review and file a claim with the VA for service-connected disability for your asbestos caused or contributed to disease and injuries.
- Contact ClearTrust Claims LLP at https://www.cleartrustclaims.com, Phone: 202-787-5850, the only asbestos disease firm this writer knows of that will handle claims with asbestos trusts for non-cancer asbestos exposure caused injuries and disease and lawsuits for Mesothelioma and other cancers and the *only firm that charges only 10% of the asbestos claim(s) award(s) or contact any legacy law firm with successful experience filing asbestos law suits or asbestos trust claims. Experience) to help you file claims with multiple asbestos trusts or law suits for compensation.
*Note: CTC LLP is the only firm this author could find who will help veterans and non-veterans with Non-CANCER asbestos trust claims and cancer claims and the only firm that charges only 10% of an asbestos trust claim award. Other firms typically charge 30% to 40% plus expenses for their services.
Continued next week.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, a combat and 100% service-connected disabled veteran, an ex-Enlisted Infantryman, an ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and a retired Lt. Colonel. He is a former Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA and Durham VA Medical Centers, a Fisher House Charleston Goodwill Ambassador, and the Veteran Benefits Advisor for the AUSA Coastal Carolina Chapter, MOPH Chapter, MOAA Triangle Chapter, and VFW Post 7383. Larry is also the author of the award-winning “Blades of Thunder (Book One)” and a contributing freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.