Since its founding in 1974, Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood, A Professional Law Corporation, has represented many military officers and enlisted personnel with cancer, especially those suffering from mesothelioma, a cancer whose only known cause is exposure to asbestos. Military service puts those who serve their country at risk for exposure to asbestos, and the illnesses such exposure can cause. We understand the increased risk of exposure that comes with service on submarines, naval vessels and work in shipyards; Kazan Law includes attorneys who are pioneers in asbestos litigation who are dedicated to fighting for your rights and those of your family.

Asbestos-related lung cancer is a significant problem among veterans, particularly in the case of service people working aboard ships and submarines. Virtually no area on a Navy vessels built before the 1970s is safe including:

• Fire and engine rooms
• Boiler rooms
• Navigation rooms
• Mess halls
• Sleeping quarters

Additionally, commonly used products such as gaskets, cables, insulation, adhesives, valves, and numerous others contained asbestos.

Veterans were prone to carry asbestos dust home on their clothes, thereby exposing their loved ones to the dangerous fibers.

If you believe you could have suffered asbestos exposure or have any symptoms such as:

• shortness of breath
• chest pain and/or persistent cough
• fever, night sweats and weight loss
• pain or swelling in the abdomen, nausea, weight loss, bowel obstruction, anemia or swelling of the feet due to a build-up of fluid

Veterans of the U.S. armed forces who served between 1940 and 1980 are at great risk of developing asbestos-related diseases due to a high rate of asbestos exposure. U.S. Navy personnel and workers employed in U.S. shipyards during World War II have the highest risk of developing lung ailments because asbestos was frequently used in the construction of navy ships. Many of these men worked in the ships’ boilers rooms and engine rooms – tight-fit, poorly ventilated areas – where asbestos fibers floated freely and were inhaled.

People who lived at or worked on military bases, or were closely associated with base employees, during that time are also susceptible. There have been many cases of veterans’ family members becoming sick through second-hand exposure. Secondary exposure is especially troubling for wives who might have washed their husbands’ work clothes that had fibers stuck to them.

Veterans and shipyard workers face the greatest risk of developing mesothelioma or similar diseases because of the extensive use of asbestos in military equipment and products, buildings, ships, and submarines. This is especially true for veterans who served during or after World War II and before the 1970s when the government began regulating use of asbestos.

Sadly, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American veterans have suffered asbestos exposure, putting them at higher risk of developing asbestosis, mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related diseases.

Veterans who have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma have legal rights and may be able to recover compensation for their losses and suffering. Only an experienced mesothelioma lawyer will know if you have a valid legal claim.