Burn Pit ExposureCompensation Attorneys
For Civilians Injured on Military Bases

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on Burn Pit Compensation?

With the election just days away, there are many issues at stake that affect civilian contractors overseas. With two candidates so diametrically opposed on every issue – from military involvement to Social Security benefits – there will be huge ramifications no matter who is elected.

But perhaps no issue is currently more pressing for those who are or were employed by defense contractors than the issue of compensation for burn pit exposure. Tens of thousands of civilian employees were exposed to toxic fumes from massive burn pits on military bases – many with devastating and even lethal consequences.

As attorneys who have been fighting for the rights of injured workers for almost half a century, the issue of burn pit exposure is near and dear to the hearts of every lawyer at Cantrell Green. So, one of the issues we have looked at closely is: which presidential candidate is more likely to both acknowledge and help expedite compensation for burn pit victims?

After objective analysis and research, our attorneys have found that in the upcoming election only one presidential candidate has said he plans to support the fight for burn pit compensation: Joe Biden. And, he has openly aligned himself with the burn pit exposure cause, because of the way burn pits may have affected members of his own family.

Joe Biden’s Personal Connection to Burn Pit Exposure

Both the comedian and the 9/11 first responder say one candidate will make their jobs easier: Joe Biden. On the surface, that’s a pretty easy claim to make:

Tragically, Joe Biden lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015. And there is evidence to support – and Mr. Biden has said he believes – that his son’s brain cancer may have been connected to toxic burn pit exposure. Beau Biden’s unit was activated to deploy to Iraq on October 3, 2008, where he was stationed until September 2009 after completing a year-long stint on active duty there.

“He volunteered to join the National Guard at age 32 because he thought he had an obligation to go,” Biden said, according to CBS News. “And because of exposure to burn pits—in my view, I can’t prove it yet—he came back with Stage Four glioblastoma.”

Joe Biden’s Promise for Burn Bit Compensation

If elected president, Joe Biden has promised a study of veterans exposed to toxins, including burn pits.

Biden has also expressed support for a bill sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y that would provide presumptive benefit status for service members exposed to burn pit toxins who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. And, he openly supports a second, separate bill sponsored by Thom Tillis, R-N.C. that would provide health care for all veterans made ill by exposure to toxins.

John Feal is an army veteran, and a leading burn pit compensation advocate. In The War Horse he called the burn pits an issue “that’s dear to Joe Biden.” In that article Mr. Feal stated that, depending on the outcome of the election, “Our work is easier, or our work is a lot harder,” indicating that Biden is behind burn pit compensation, while the Trump administration has a track record of standing in the way of expanding benefits.

The Trump Administration and Burn Pit Compensation

While President Donald Trump signed legislation requiring a plan to shut down the burn pits, his administration also openly opposed expanding benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange. These benefits had to be expanded by mandate of the courts and Congress without Trump’s support.

To this day some Vietnam War veterans are still fighting for benefits after being exposed to Agent Orange 50 years ago. And, even though one out of four 1991 Gulf War veterans are sick, the VA continues to claim under Trump that “research has been inconclusive” – while outside independent research has definitively shown that these physical injuries are a result of exposure to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, including bug spray, anti-nerve agent pills, and sarin gas.

The War Horse has reported this year that while 200,000 military personnel have signed up for the Veterans Affairs’ burn pit registry, and over 10,000 claims have been filed, only about 2,000 veterans have had their burn pit claims approved.

Casting Your Vote for Burn Pit Compensation

Talk show host turned military activist John Stewart famously called out Congress after 911 for not taking care of first responders made ill by exposure to fires after 911. And now he is calling out Congress and the rest of America for what he calls  “paper patriotism”:  getting upset when players kneel at football games and posting social media memes about the bravery of “heroes” – while arguing against veterans’ so-called “entitlements,” including benefits for burn pit injuries.

Both Mr. Stewart and Mr. Feal say that a vote for Biden is a way to support veterans who have been exposed to toxins. And, while this new legislation does not directly benefit civilians exposed to burn pits, the ramifications are huge for military contractors made sick by toxic exposure.

If Congress, the VA and the US government acknowledge the effects of burn pit exposure and begin to presumptively (automatically) award compensation for related illnesses, the Defense Base Act system for injured and ill civilian contractors is likely to follow suit.

Burn Pit Compensation Attorneys

As experienced attorneys who have represented injured workers for more than 40 years, the plight of civilians exposed to burn pits on overseas bases is at the top of our list of issues in the coming election. We are among very few attorneys in Long Beach, Los Angeles, or anywhere in California or across the United States who not only understand but specialize in burn pit cases for defense contractors who were exposed to toxins.

We believe that if the U.S. can spend money to send service men and women to war, it should also set aside money to take care of them when they return home. And if defense contractors are making millions of dollars on military contracts overseas, they also have a duty to compensate injured employees who were tragically and negligently exposed to burn pit toxins.

Please, cast your vote carefully on November 3rd – or earlier by mail or drop box – to ensure that the candidates who will help acknowledge and remedy burn pit exposure are elected.

And, if you or a loved one was a civilian working on a military base for a defense contractor overseas, and you were made ill by toxic burn pit exposure, our attorneys are here to help you in any way we can.

Civilian Burn Pit Compensation Attorneys Free Consultation: 800-964-8047