Veterans Suffering from Asbestos Disease

Many military veterans were exposed to asbestos and approximately 30% of all malignant mesothelioma victims are veterans. Asbestos was commonly used for a variety of industrial and commercial purposes because of its resistance to heat / fire, its tensile strength and its flexibility. Asbestos materials were used in bulk at shipyards. Nearly every Naval ship that was manufactured prior to the 1970s (asbestos regulation - Clean Air Act) contained dangerously high levels of asbestos. Heating pipes, air vents, insulation panels, sleeping compartments, mess halls, passageways, gun mouths, engine rooms, boiler rooms… asbestos exposure was virtually inescapable on a Naval ship. High levels of exposure combined with a limited circulation of fresh air on the ships helps to explain how so many veterans developed asbestos-related diseases.

Veterans have the same rights as civilians when it comes to holding companies liable for their asbestos exposure accountable for their negligence. In fact, thousands of veterans have successfully sued asbestos manufacturers and received restitution through the tort system. There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding the relationship between veterans suffering from an asbestos disease and the proposed Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR) act trust fund legislation of 2005. Many veterans are of the impression that an asbestos trust fund is the only manner through which they can receive compensation for any asbestos injuries they incurred during military service. Even though veterans cannot sue the government, there are other entities liable for their exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos products were not manufactured by the U.S. Government; rather, they were purchased from asbestos manufacturers through government contracts. Such privately-owned companies can be sued by veterans for their military exposure. Veterans typically had post-service civilian careers that were related to the jobs they held during their service (naval boiler-workers became civilian boiler-workers; naval pipe-fitters became civilian pipe-fitters, etc.). Prior to asbestos regulation of the 1970s, veterans' subsequent civilian jobs often exposed them to further asbestos materials. The companies for whom they worked after leaving military service would therefore have liabilities related to asbestos exposure.

The Truth About Veterans' Asbestos Rights

A lobby group called the Asbestos Study Group (ASG) is comprised of a variety of members, some of which include Honeywell, General Motors and Halliburton, three companies with significant asbestos liabilities. ASG emphasized the fact that the trust fund is beneficial to veterans because they have no other avenue through which to receive compensation; the government cannot be sued, leaving veterans without a source of compensation, save for the asbestos victim trust fund. As noted above, such a claim is flat-out false. Veterans can and do file asbestos lawsuits from which many have received considerable compensation.

It is important for military veterans to understand that they are entitled to compensation if they have contracted an asbestos disease, contrary to what they might have heard from groups such as the ASG. Veterans suffering from an asbestos disease should contact an asbestos attorney to get more information about their particular situation.

[Page updated January 2008]