Spotlight on Asbestos Poisoning and MS Veterans

Before 1980, asbestos was almost as common as bullets at Mississippi military bases. But asbestos exposure is not yesterday’s problem.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force have military bases in Mississippi. Gulfport Battalion Center, for example, was built to provide raw materials and construction services to the Navy throughout World War II. It became a permanent military service base. Since then, its members, known as Seabees, have been responsible for building camps, bridges, roads, and airstrips. For example, more than 25,000 Seabees worked in Vietnam alone during the war, all of whom were heavily exposed to asbestos during the construction.

Another example is the Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian. It deals with jet strike training operations and is one of the primary training spots for the Navy. While not a military base, Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula became the leading producer of ships for the Navy.

The devastating consequences of the overuse of asbestos have intensified in the past few decades. The reason behind it is inhaled asbestos fibers that lurk in the body for 20 to 50 years before the disease they cause starts showing symptoms. In Mississippi, between 1999 and 2017, there were 2,365 asbestos-related deaths. According to medical reports, about 30% of all mesothelioma patients are veterans.

For many years, the Navy extensively used asbestos and completely ignored the health risks. Steve McQueen’s CO supposedly made him scrape asbestos off pipes as punishment for going AWOL. That CO probably didn’t realize he had given McQueen a death sentence. The actor died in 1980 at age 50 while seeking a last-ditch desperation treatment for his fatal mesothelioma in Mexico.

After McQueen left the Navy, the service branch doubled down on asbestos use. A series of accidental fires in the 1960s killed or wounded hundreds of people. The Navy was determined to lower the risk of fire, and it wanted to spend the least amount of money possible. So, asbestos seemed like an ideal solution.

In the Navy’s defense, the adverse health effects of asbestos were not widely known in the 1960s because asbestos companies carefully concealed these risks. Later, tobacco companies followed their playbook when they concealed the risk of tobacco products.

Asbestos exposure illnesses, like mesothelioma and asbestosis, are almost always disabling. Therefore, VA disability benefits, which include monthly cash and free medical care at VA facilities, are usually available.

At a C&P (compensation and pension) medical examination, a doctor examines the applicant and determines the extent of disability, which is usually 100% in asbestos exposure cases. For a nationwide asbestos lawyer, the tricky part of a VA disability matter is usually establishing a service-related connection. 

Service records almost never state that a veteran worked with a toxic substance. So, a lawyer typically uses buddy statements to fill in the gap. These witnesses simply state that they saw the victim working with asbestos. The witnesses do not need to explore the medical aspects of that exposure.

In a VA disability case, a little evidence goes a long way. The burden of proof (as likely as not) is very low in these matters.

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. When it comes to asbestos exposure, no case is too big and no case is too small.