U.S. Navy
Machinist's mates, boiler tenders, hull technicians, pipefitters, electricians, damage controlmen and engineering officers. Highest risk of any branch.
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Veterans and mesothelioma
Roughly a third of American mesothelioma diagnoses involve military service. Navy service carries the highest risk of any occupation in the country.
Why veterans are affected so heavily
Every American warship built between the 1930s and the early 1980s was insulated with asbestos. Boiler rooms, engine rooms, fire rooms, berthing compartments, galleys and turbine spaces were lagged with it — and the gaskets, packing, brake bands and refractory were asbestos-bearing too.
A ship at sea is a sealed environment. There is no dilution ventilation in a fire room, and there was no respiratory protection. Sailors slept, ate and stood watch in the same air. Overhauls and refits, when insulation was stripped and replaced wholesale, were worse still.
The rates in the medical literature reflect this. In shipbuilding regions such as Hampton Roads, mesothelioma occurs at several times the national rate. Of the roughly 4.3 million Americans who worked in shipyards during the Second World War, a substantial number later died of asbestos disease.
You are not suing the military
This is the point most veterans want settled first, and the answer is clear. A civil asbestos claim is brought against the private companies that manufactured and supplied asbestos products to the armed forces — insulation makers, gasket makers, pump and valve manufacturers. It is not a claim against the Navy, the Army or the Department of Defense, and it has no effect on your service record, your pension or your VA care.
Veterans routinely pursue VA disability compensation and a civil lawsuit at the same time. They are separate systems with separate defendants, and one does not reduce the other.
VA disability compensation
Mesothelioma and asbestosis are recognised as service-connectable conditions. A successful claim generally requires three things: a current diagnosis, evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, and a medical opinion linking the two. Mesothelioma is commonly rated at 100 per cent while active, which also opens the door to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for a surviving spouse.
- Service records, including your DD-214, rating and duty stations
- Ship and shore-station history, which we can match to documented asbestos use
- Pathology confirming the diagnosis
- A nexus opinion from a physician familiar with asbestos disease
Our veterans practice is led by an attorney who served as a Navy machinist's mate, and we hold asbestos-use records for hundreds of individual vessels and installations.
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Branches and roles we see most often
Merchant Marine & Coast Guard
Engine room ratings on cargo vessels, cutters and tenders, and civilian shipyard workers under naval contract.
U.S. Army
Vehicle and tank mechanics, engineers, boiler operators and personnel housed in barracks insulated with asbestos.
Air Force & Marines
Aircraft brake and engine mechanics, firefighting crews using asbestos protective gear, and base maintenance trades.
What we need from you to start
Bring what you have and do not worry about what is missing. Most veterans no longer hold their records, and we can obtain service and ship histories on your behalf.
- Branch, dates of service and rating or MOS
- Ships or installations, with approximate dates
- Any civilian employment before and after service
- The diagnosis and treating hospital
Veterans intake
We handle the VA claim and the civil case together.
Served aboard ship? Let us check the vessel.
Tell us the hull number and the years you were aboard. We will tell you what asbestos-containing products are documented for that vessel, and which manufacturers remain answerable.