Roughly one in three mesothelioma patients in the United States is a military veteran, because asbestos was used heavily in Navy ships from the 1930s through the early 1980s, in engine and boiler rooms, pipe…
Roughly one in three mesothelioma patients in the United States is a military veteran, because asbestos was used heavily in Navy ships from the 1930s through the early 1980s, in engine and boiler rooms, pipe insulation, gaskets, and the walls of berthing compartments. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma and asbestosis as service-connected conditions, and a veteran with a mesothelioma diagnosis and documented asbestos exposure in service is generally rated at 100% disability. A veteran in Tamaqua who served aboard a destroyer, in a shipyard, on a base boiler plant, or in Army or Air Force vehicle and building maintenance can qualify. The VA does not pay for the private companies' negligence, that is a second, separate recovery.
The key point many veterans in the anthracite region miss: a VA claim and a manufacturer claim are not the same money and do not cancel each other out. The VA pays monthly compensation and covers treatment at facilities like the Lebanon or Wilkes-Barre VA medical centers. The private asbestos companies, most of which set up court-ordered bankruptcy trust funds holding an estimated $30 billion-plus nationwide under the U.S. Courts bankruptcy process, pay separately for the products a veteran was exposed to. A veteran can collect VA benefits and still recover from those trusts and from solvent manufacturers. The VA's asbestos exposure page confirms the service connection; the OSHA asbestos standard documents how dangerous the shipboard exposure levels were.
Step 1 is the intake, service branch, dates, ship or unit, and job (a machinist's mate near the boilers has a different exposure record than a cook). Step 2 is pulling the DD-214 and service records through the National Archives veterans records system and ordering medical records from the treating oncologist. Step 3 is filing the VA claim with accredited representation so the fee is capped by federal rule. Step 4 is matching the exposure to specific manufacturers and the trust funds that cover them. Step 5 is pursuing the private recovery while the VA claim runs in parallel. Both tracks move at the same time so a sick veteran is not waiting on one before the other starts.
Michael Schafle, Esq. handles this work from Schuylkill County, and home visits in Tamaqua Heights, Owl Creek, Newkirk, Five Points, and South Ward mean a veteran on oxygen or recovering from treatment does not have to drive to Allentown or Philadelphia to begin. Many anthracite-region men served in the Navy first and then worked the mines, mills, railroads, or power plants, that layered exposure history matters, because it can support more than one claim at once. The NIOSH asbestos research and the National Cancer Institute asbestos overview both tie that kind of long-term occupational exposure directly to mesothelioma. Spouses and surviving family members of a veteran who has already passed may also qualify for VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and for a wrongful-death manufacturer claim, as described on the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation page.
Every job gets a firm, written price after an on-site visit.
Tell us about your navy and military veteran asbestos claims job in Tamaqua and we'll send a clear, written quote, usually the same day.
Michael Schafle, Esq.