Mesothelioma Articles

Opinion: Pa. vets, workers exposed to asbestos deserve help now

Posted: 04/21/2004

By Ralph F. Diluigi, Times Guest Columnist

In what amounts to a grievous injustice, thousands of veterans and workers have suffered from asbestos exposure and have been unable to get compensation for their suffering.Many veterans who served between the Second World War and Vietnam were exposed to this substance during their tour of duty. Diseases caused by asbestos, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, are often deadly.

Adding insult to injury, veterans and other workers often can’t get adequate compensation for their medical expenses and suffering. The research group the Rand Institute found that victims only get about half of the awards they receive in the courts.

The rest goes to lawyers and administration.

Meanwhile, court delays are so long that many victims even die before they ever receive anything.

But there may be hope on the horizon for veterans and others with asbestos-related illnesses.

“Through this Center we can quickly pull together the expertise and resources necessary to study and treat this problem immediately.”

Last year, the Senate Judiciary committee passed legislation that will create a national victims’ relief fund to provide fast, dependable and fair compensation for veterans and other workers suffering from devastating and even lethal effects of asbestos exposure. The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR) Act will create a fund worth more than $100 billion, to be financed by companies and insurers.

Under the FAIR Act, victims won’t have to hire a lawyer to handle their case. No more will victims have to wait for their case to be heard, and no longer must they prove who was responsible for their exposure.

Victims with deadly mesothelioma will go to the front of the line and be eligible for the largest awards.Compensation will be awarded in a year or less. And, unlike the current system, the FAIR Act allows victims who get sicker to seek additional compensation.

The FAIR Act relieves the burden on the Veterans Health Administration by giving veterans the option of reimbursement for medical monitoring costs, allowing them to seek medical attention for asbestos-related illnesses at the hospital of their choice.

Today, veterans with asbestos-related illnesses must prove exposure was "service-related" in order to qualify for veterans’ benefits. The FAIR Act establishes a no-fault system, so that sick veterans must only prove that they were exposed in the workplace -- but not that the exposure was service-related -- in order to be compensated.

Most importantly, creation of the fund will make sure there will be money available well into the future to take care of the victims who don’t know they are sick yet.

As a veteran and a Pennsylvanian, I am grateful and proud to see Sen. Arlen Specter taking a leadership role on this most important issue. For months now, he has been meeting personally with all of the players with a dog in this hunt, pushing them to put differences aside and come to an agreement on the final details of this plan.

I hope Sen. Specter will continue to fight this important fight for veterans and many thousands of innocent workers exposed to asbestos.

And I urge both Sen. Specter and Sen. Rick Santorum to vote yes for the FAIR Act when it comes to Senate floor this spring.

Ralph F. Diluigi is past department commander of the Pennsylvania Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Source: The Daily Times 2004

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