Need Your Advice

[donnieragsdale]

Trying to assist my mother-in-law.

Her husband participated in "operation crossroad" nuke tests "able and baker"

He had kidney cancer and it was removed.

Subsequently died about a year later.

Autopsy stated "multisystem failure".

Autopsy also noted that the loss of the cancerous kidney began the downward spiral that resulted in his death. It noted that everything began with his remaining kidney not being able to assume the load of the lost kidney.

He had never asked for service connection for anything from the VA. She now is unable to keep her meager house warm without family assistance.

My questions:

Isn't kidney cancer persumed service connected for atomic vets?

Did he have to be service connected for kidney cancer before he died or can the VA assign service connection subsequent to his death and provide financial assistance for his widow now if she makes the request?

Will it be a waste of time to try.

Have others gained service connection after the death of their spouse?

Your excellent advise is welcome.

[Testvet]

she can also apply to the Department of Justice under the RECA act, there are some cancers that are considered presumptive for exposure to the tests, if his is one of them, the feds are paying a lump sun of 75,000 and it has no effect on VA benies she might be entitled to, she can file for DIC benefits if the cancer is related to the experiments. If she has low level income she may also be entitled to a widows pension lets say she's one of the widows that get about 500 a month SS, then they will give her the difference between NSC pension and the SS payment

It doesn't hurt to ask all they can do is say no, but it sounds to me like she has a valid claim

http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/torts/const/reca/about.htm this is the RECA website

[donnieragsdale]

Thanks for the replys.

We tried the DOJ for his case and was denied. They said that the Kidney Cancer was not one of the cancers they had on their listing.

We will submit the claim to the VA and see if they can help.

In her husband's case, he was a seaman assigned to one of the ships that monitored the tests and after each explosion, he helped the testing civilians take equipment aboard the ships to take readings of different levels of the test ships (ground zero). The took gieger counter readings and photos of the test animals that had been placed aboard the test ships prior to the detonations.

His cancer developed years after the exposure and took his life before he could perfect a claim to the VA.

Mainly, I wanted to know if his right to be "service connected" died with him or if his wife still has a right to try to connect it now after his death.

thank you

Don

[Testvet]

if they don't recognize it as being related to the tests, then it is doubtful that they will SC it now. The DOJ uses the same lists the VA will use, at this point she may have a claim for a widows pension if he served during a war time period and it will then become a needs based payment but if she is getting a really low amount of SS it may add some money to her overall position good luck

[Berta]

I replied yesterday to this under Atomic vets -widows question-post-I could not find your original post-

[Berta]

Here it is:

I replied to this and my post vanished -at same time I got unexpected company-last night and now I cannot find where this question was----

I believe it was regarding kidney disease causing death- claimed due to radiation exposure?

The poster said he thought the condition was presumptive-

The presumptive conditions are all found at 38 USC 1112©-38 CFR 3.309 (d)

however this list is only for veterans who participated in a radiation risk activity- such as:

occupation of Hiroshima or Nakasaki between August 6, 1945 and July 1, 1946,

or were exposed to ionized radiation while a POW in Japan

or participated in undergroud nuclear tests at Amchitka Alaska prior to Jan 1, 1974, or

service at gas diffusion plants in Paducah Kentucky at that time or

in Pormouth plants or at area K 25- Oak Ridge Tennesee.

Other situations can help an atomic veteran establish service connect-these are often very difficult claims-

a strong medical opinion of the nexus helps considerably- however the VA has to obtain a radiation estimate from the DOD to assess the nature and dosage of radiation the veteran was exposed to-

My husband, after Vietnam, was a Nuclear Power Plant operator-

his exposure was carefully documented probably many times a day- for ten years-

he had no residual disablities from all that-

Those records are most surely still with the plant and the feds-

However- it can become problematic when a vet or the VA tries to find the records of their radiation exposure sometimes- in the military-

but even when these records are found they most often contain documentations of low dosages-too low to cause potential health problems.

Also some of the risk activity of atomic vets remains classified- another problem in proving a claim like this-

I dont know where this post was yesterday-

Did this veteran have any other potential disability for possible service conected- that could have contributed to his death -or caused it-( the kidney disease)

The widow should certainly file a claim- but should raise both the radiation exposure issue as well as any other possible reason that the VA should service connect his death.

You didnt give us too much info------

but mentioned she is at very low income- if he was wartime ( just wartime service-not necessarily war service) and she has very low income, the VA will certainly give her a wartime pension- depending on all other eligibility factors-of course-

The 21-526 form will cover both the pension decision and the service connected death claim.

Radiation claims- unless within the above criteria depend on the REM dosages in service (documented) and strong medical evidence to support this exposure and the SC disablity or death.

--------------------