By LTC (US ARMY AVIATION Retired) W.Larry DandridgeAsbestos is all around us.The people with the heaviest exposure to asbestos worked in industries such as shipbuilding, vehicle and aircraft maintenance, power generation, construction, insulation, the military, and other sectors where asbestoss propertiesfireproofing, insulating, moldable, and inexpensivewere beneficial.Seniors, especially seniors who are veterans who served before 1990, are at elevated risk.
If you are a veteran or non-veteran who has asbestos injuries or symptoms of injuries or disease, you should file a claim with the asbestos trusts that mined, manufactured, or used asbestos in their products.Many seniors do not know that:There are over seventy asbestos trusts with over $30 billion in assets.The VA claims process is separate from filing asbestos trust claims.Veterans and non-veterans who served before the 1990s are presumed by the asbestos trusts (but not the VA) to have been exposed to asbestos if they served at locations on the trusts site lists.Claimants must file a claim with the trusts that apply to them.If a claimant meets the eligibility requirements, they receive payment.No adversary litigation, discovery, depositions, or court involvement is required in claims against asbestos trusts.Claimants do not have to prove their injuries were caused solely by asbestos exposure in an asbestos trust claim; they only need to prove that asbestos contributed to the disease.
Seniors can establish their exposure by showing that they served at one of the thousands of locationsincluding ships, vessels, and military baseslisted on the trusts site lists.Veterans Service Officers, claim agents, and law firms can assist veterans in filing claims with the VA.Many lawyers are also qualified to help veterans and non-veterans file claims for cancer with asbestos trusts and businesses.Seniors must carefully research whom they use because some charge much higher rates, and many law firms only represent cancer patients, refusing to handle less lucrative non-cancer claims.Veterans and non-veterans working on ships, boats, vessels, or Navy shipyards are at high risk.
The Charleston, SC, Naval Shipyard is listed on fifteen separate asbestos trusts.If you worked there, you are presumed to have been exposed to asbestos, and you may be able to file a claim with each of those fifteen trusts.To qualify for an asbestos trust payment, you must:Be diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.Have spent at least six months exposed to a trust companys asbestos.Have been exposed to asbestos from any source for at least five years.Veterans and non-veterans have two options for filing claims with the trusts:Self-file via a multitude of complicated asbestos trust websites or mail-in applications, orUse a law firm to help file the claim.The asbestos trust claim process requires veterans to obtain military records and, if applicable, employment verification and medical documentation.Finding a highly qualified lawyer who best meets your needs in filing a non-cancer-related claim with asbestos trusts may be more challenging than filing the claims.Three Ways to Find Legal HelpContact your local Bar Association Referral Service.
However, this writer found them unhelpful, and some lawyers do not want to receive many inquiries from veterans.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.Follow the authors lead and contact a law firm specializing in asbestos non-cancer injury claims that charges only ten percent of the amount awarded.
Publisher: Life Plan Community ( Read More )
