Agent Orange Lawsuit
We are no longer accepting agent orange inquiries. Sorry for any inconvenience.
January 2005
Environmentalists intend on suing the Port Authority of New Jersey, Army Corps
Environmentalists fighting to clean up Newark Bay in New Jersey say evidence of contamination from the old Diamond Alkali Chemical plant, known for its Vietnam production of the highly toxic deforesting herbicide called Agent Orange, can be found by looking at the crabs.
Numerous tests conducted throughout the years confirm the crabs still contain the highest levels of dioxins ever recorded in aquatic animals. The toxicity is so high, according to scientists, that if regularly consumed by humans it would guarantee cancer. Read Full Article...
January 2005
Agent Orange Case Up in the Air
Lawyers representing Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange have asked the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to reject a motion by the defendants to dismiss the lawsuit.
The Agent Orange lawsuit is against 37 U.S. chemical firms, and the plaintiffs' lawyers submitted an amended petition to the court that, they argued, contained significant new evidence that they had collected during a visit to Viet Nam. Read Full Article....
January 2005
Former Alaska repeater might have Agent Orange buried underground
The disagreement between a federal agency and a private landowner over who will pay to move construction equipment is holding up the search for barrels of Agent Orange that are possibly buried in Tok, Alaska.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said they are not authorized to use federal funds for that type of work, but a spokesman for the landowner, Nugget Construction, said their company should not have to pay the estimated $3,000 cost.
Read Full Article....
February 2004
First Vietnamese Agent Orange lawsuit filed
Three Vietnamese who say they or their families became ill after being exposed to Agent Orange, the defoliants used by America in the war nearly 30 years ago, have filed the first lawsuit against Agent Orange manufacturers in Vietnam. The two largest makers of the chemical, Dow Chemical Co. and Monsanto Co., have been named among more than 20 firms in the suit. Read Full Article....
June 2003
Agent Orange Lawsuits Allowed
Around 2.4 million
U.S. Vietnam veterans and families have been exposed to Agent Orange. Until
recently, many Vietnam veterans were unaware of the serious and potentially
deadly Agent Orange side effects that could be suffered, including cancer, neurological
disorders, diabetes, and other dangerous effects.
Agent Orange was the herbicide developed for military use to expose the enemy
during the war by not allowing concealment in the lush Vietnamese terrains.
In 1985, an Agent Orange settlement was reached on a fast track. When filed in 1979, the Agent Orange class action lawsuit was the largest mass tort class action. The settlement created a $180 million fund that was financed by the chemical companies to pay the veterans that had developed disease due to Agent Orange exposure.
The Agent Orange settlement provided just an estimated 50,000 class members of the 2.6 million Vietnam veterans a small amount of compensation if total disability was demonstrated between 1971 and 1994. It did not include the veterans that later developed conditions after 1994 despite the 20-30 year development many of the illnesses can take to appear. Other Agent Orange side effect sufferers at the time of the Agent Orange lawsuit were unaware of the lawsuit and were also not included in the settlement, and the money from the Agent Orange class action lawsuit was depleted in 1994.
On June 9, 2003, a tied Supreme Court vote allowed the Vietnam veterans that have developed Agent Orange illnesses after 1994 to sue the compound’s manufacturers despite the 1985 settlement. Although the Vietnam War was decades ago, some Vietnam veterans are now just beginning to suffer the serious effects of Agent Orange exposure. The 1985 Agent Orange settlement excluded many Vietnam veterans that have suffered, are suffering, and will continue to suffer because of Agent Orange exposure. Please contact us to confer with an Agent Orange attorney.
Click Here for More Agent Orange News......
Agent Orange Side Effects
Vietnam veterans that have been exposed to Agent Orange have suffered
serious conditions. Since many of the diseases associated to Agent Orange
exposure can take 20-30 years to develop, thousands of Vietnam veterans
may have been excluded from the Agent Orange settlement in 1985. In 1993,
the National Academy of Sciences issued a report linking Agent Orange to
multiple myeloma and other conditions. As more Agent Orange studies were
performed, more illnesses were linked to the herbicide. The potentially
deadly Agent Orange side effects recognized by the Veteran Affairs include
Prostate Cancer, Respiratory Cancers, Multiple Myeloma, Type II Diabetes,
Hodgkin’s Disease,
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Chloracne, Porphyria
Cutanea Tarda, Peripheral Neuropathy, Spinal Bifidia in Vietnam veteran
children exposed to Agent Orange
Please
contact us to confer with an Agent Orange
attorney.
Columbia University Study
An April 2003 study performed by Columbia University sought to re-examine
military records of the Vietnam War. What the study found was that about 21
million gallons of herbicides were sprayed from 1961-1971, adding up to 1.84
million gallons. This figure was 10% greater than previously believed, and
over half of the herbicides sprayed were Agent Orange. Deadly illnesses associated
to Agent Orange was not acknowledged by the Pentagon until years after Vietnam
veterans were exposed to the dangerous herbicide.
Unusually Strong Agent
Orange Side Effect Link Identified
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced in 2003 that the link to chronic
lymphocytic leukemia to Agent Orange exposed Vietnam veterans is so strong
that benefits would automatically be given to any new diagnoses of it. There
are as many as 1,000 new patients for chronic lymphocytic leukemia alone
expected amongst Vietnam veterans.
Agent Orange Settlement
The first Agent Orange class action was filed in 1979, the largest mass tort
class action of its’ time. There were 2.4 million Vietnam veterans that
the Agent Orange class action lawsuit sought to represent. Little progress
was made with the Agent Orange lawsuit, until October 1983 when Judge Jack
Weinstein was assigned to the Agent Orange lawsuit and it was put on a fast
track to settlement.
The 1985 out of court Agent Orange settlement made between the companies and the veterans created a $180 million fund that was financed by the chemical companies to pay those veterans that claimed disease and serious illnesses from Agent Orange exposure. For each year between 1971 and 1994 that the Agent Orange class members could demonstrate what was classified as “total disability” a small amount of compensation would be given. Under these rigid guidelines, a high number of the 2.4 million Vietnam veterans were not included in the Agent Orange settlement.
Anyone suffering an illness following 1994, which was very likely considering the illnesses associated to Agent Orange could take 20-30 years to develop in some instances, did not qualify to receive payment under the settlement terms. In addition, a lump sum payment was provided for the Agent Orange families of veterans that died from diseases that may or may not have been related to Agent Orange, and quickly the $180 million fund was depleted by 1994. Just 50,000 Agent Orange members received a small compensation. Read More…
Vietnam veterans never notified
The government knew the identity of all Vietnam veterans. A large number of
these veterans were exposed to the dangers of Agent Orange, but was never
notified by the government back when the 1985 out of court Agent Orange class
action lawsuit settlement was made. The Public Citizen consumer group thinks
that there is no excuse other than cost that the individuals were not mailed
personal notices. The only publication notices were included in just a handful
of national publications, which is not “reasonably calculated”
to reach the 2.4 million exposed U.S. Vietnam veterans and families according
to the consumer group.
Please
contact us to confer with an Agent Orange attorney.
Site Developed by eJustice
