Veterans who suffer from asbestos-related conditions are eligible for compensation from one or more of the several trust funds created for victims of asbestos exposure.
The main difference between a VA claim and an asbestos trust fund claim is that for a VA claim, the claimants have to prove actual exposure to asbestos while the asbestos trusts do not require such a stringent burden of proof. Having worked on a ship, plane or in a building that contained asbestos or having worked with asbestos materials is sufficient basis to file an asbestos trust fund claim.
Many veterans inaccurately believe that they’re entitled to benefits only if they were exposed to asbestos while being in military service. But the VA claim requirement is that the illness is “at least as likely as not” to have been caused by the military. This sums up to military exposure to asbestos being at least a 50% contributing factor in the development of the asbestos illness.
Full-time service members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard with the highest risk of asbestos exposure were those with the following occupations:
Navy
- Boiler technician
- Fireman
- Fire control technician
- Machinist’s mate
- Pipe-fitter
Air Force
- Aircraft electricians
- Aircraft mechanics
- Boiler workers
- Construction workers
- Environmental support specialists
- Firefighters
- Vehicle mechanics
- Welders
Marine Corps
- Marines in Ships and Shipyards
- Jobs in Marine Corps Bases
Army
- Carpentry
- Construction
- Demolition
- Insulating
- Milling
- Mining
- Pipefitting
- Vehicle maintenance
Coast Guard
- Shipyard insulation work
- Boiler and engine room maintenance
- Cargo ship inspection
At Asbestos Vets, we have helped thousands of veterans with accessing asbestos screening, streamlining the claims process, filling out the forms, and gathering all the other supporting documentation for their claim. We do everything we can to make it easy for veterans to file asbestos trust funds and VA claims.
