If you were exposed to burn pits while working overseas as a civilian contractor, call ou Law office now to speak with us about pursuing compensation under the Defense Base Act. Our experienced DBA attorneys are here to help when you are dealing with a respiratory disease, cancer, or other illness linked to environmental exposure.
The toxic smoke from the on-base burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq has been shown to cause cancer and serious breathing illnesses. As an overseas contractor who has been exposed to the toxic smoke forem the burn pits, you need to know that if you, or any of your co-workers end up suffering cancer or a serious breathing illness, you are covered by the Defense Base Act workers’ compensation system.
Diseases Specified -The diseases specified in this subsection are the following:
(1) Asthma that was diagnosed after service of the covered veteran.
(2) The following types of cancer: Head cancer of any type, Neck cancer of any type,Respiratory cancer of any type,Gastrointestinal cancer of any type,Reproductive cancer of any type, Lymphoma cancer of any type, Kidney cancer, Brain cancer,Melanoma, Pancreatic cancer.
(3) Chronic bronchitis.
(4) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
(5) Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis.
(6) Emphysema.
(7) Granulomatous disease.
(8) Interstitial lung disease.
(9) Pleuritis.
(10) Pulmonary fibrosis.
(11) Sarcoidosis.
(12) Chronic sinusitis.
(13) Chronic rhinitis.
(14) Glioblastoma.
(15) Any other disease for which the Secretary determines, pursuant to regulations prescribed under subchapter VII that a presumption of service connection is warranted based on a positive association with a substance, chemical, or airborne hazard identified in the list under section 1119(b)(2) of this title.
In general, under the Defense Base Act, unless your claim is properly filed with the U.S. Dept. of Labor, there is a one-year statute of limitation for injuries, and two years for occupational illnesses. There are exceptions to the general rule which can extend the time for filing. which we can discuss with you. At some point though, if you did not know about the deadline (which the ins. co. would never have told you about, by the way) then you would have lost your rights to compensation. For an occupational injury, generally the effective date is either the last date of exposure to the work environment, or the first date that a doctor gives the opinion that the medical condition is connected to your work overseas. Filing the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s LS-203 form with the U.S. Dept. of Labor stops the statute of limitations from running out if it has not done so yet, and will preserve the person’s legal rights to the compensation that his employer paid high premiums for in case he was injured or made ill by his work or work environment overseas.
Once we receive a copy of your doctor opinion letter making the either possible, likely, or probable connection between your medical condition and the work exposures overseas, we will send our initial paperwork to you. Once that paperwork is filled out and signed and returned to us, we will review it and contact you if we have any questions. Once we have filed your cancer or lung illness claim with the US. Dept. of Labor, and sent you a copy, that will constitute our acceptance of your cancer or lung illness DBA case, and from that point forward we will be his attorneys concerning it, which we are not until that point, of course.
What the U.S. Dept. of Labor will be looking for in your doctor’s report are the answers to the following four questions:
1.) What is your diagnosis?
2.) Is your diagnosis as a result of exposures while you were working as a contractor overseas?
3.) Do you have any work restrictions as a result of your diagnosis, such as the doctor thinking that you should not be working back in a war zone now?
4.) Do you need treatment going forward for your diagnosed condition?
They will be looking for a report from a medical doctor (not just a P.A.), and for cancer, preferably your oncologist, and for a lung illness, preferably your pulmonologist.
Please give us a call if you have any questions.
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