Veterans Asbestos Exposure Claims

Quick answer

Veterans are heavily represented in mesothelioma diagnoses — shipboard and shore-station asbestos was everywhere for decades, especially in the Navy
A VA disability claim and a civil asbestos claim are separate tracks. Filing one does not close the other, and pursuing both is normal
A VA claim is made against the government for benefits; a civil claim is made against the companies that made or sold the asbestos products — not against the service
Surviving spouses may be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation even when the veteran has already passed away
No upfront cost. Call (215) 810-0199 and we will walk through both tracks before you commit to anything

Philadelphia is the city the Navy built its yard in, and that shapes almost every veteran’s case here. League Island did not only berth ships — it overhauled them. A vessel in for refit had its insulation stripped and replaced around a crew still sleeping and eating aboard, which means the densest asbestos exposure in many Navy careers happened tied up at a Philadelphia pier rather than at sea. Where a man was in 1957, and which hull he was on, matters more here than how long he served.

A large share of the people diagnosed with mesothelioma in this country served in the military, and the reason is not mysterious. Asbestos was the standard insulation aboard ships and in boiler and engine rooms from the 1940s through the early 1980s, and it was used just as freely in shore stations, depots, motor pools, and base housing. Sailors slept a few feet from lagged steam lines. Machinist's mates and boiler techs worked inside spaces where the insulation was cut, fitted, and torn out on a schedule. Veterans from Philadelphia who served in those ratings, or who did the same work as civilians afterward at the Navy Yard, the South Philadelphia refineries, PECO powerhouses, and the Budd plants, often have exposure on both sides of their working life.

The most common misunderstanding we hear is that filing a VA claim means giving up a civil claim, or that a civil claim means suing the Navy. Neither is right. A VA disability claim is a benefits claim against the government based on service connection. A civil asbestos claim is brought against the manufacturers and suppliers that made the insulation, gaskets, packing, and block that the service bought and installed — private companies, many of which knew what asbestos did long before they stopped selling it. The two run on separate tracks, and it is routine to pursue both at once.

For a service-connected claim, the VA generally wants a diagnosis, evidence of in-service exposure, and a medical link between the two. Mesothelioma has essentially one known cause, which simplifies the medical question considerably compared with most VA claims. The evidence problem is usually the service record: a DD-214, a rating and ship assignment, and the dates. If the records are thin or burned, that is a solvable problem more often than people expect — deck logs, muster rolls, unit histories, and a shipmate who served in the same space can rebuild the picture.

If the veteran has already died, the family is not out of options. A surviving spouse may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and the civil claim generally survives as a wrongful-death and survival action brought by the estate. Families in Port Richmond, Kensington, Fishtown, South Philadelphia, Manayunk, and the Northeast sometimes wait years before asking, on the assumption that the moment passed. It is worth asking rather than assuming.

We will come to you. Veterans in treatment, and families caring for one, should not have to drive across Philadelphia County for a first conversation. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The other Philadelphia pattern is that the uniform and the payroll often belong to the same person. Men did their service at League Island and then hired on at the same yard as civilians, and families in South Philadelphia and Port Richmond sent sailors and yard workers out of the same house for three generations. Frankford Arsenal at Bridesburg did the equivalent on the Army side. Those are two separate evidence trails — service records on one, employment and union records on the other — and a first conversation here usually spends its time sorting out which years belong to which.

Call (215) 810-0199

Veterans Asbestos Exposure Claims — fees and costs in Philadelphia

Consultation and initial case review, at home or at the hospital	$0
Mesothelioma or asbestos claim, handled on contingency	No fee unless there is a recovery — the percentage is agreed in writing before representation begins
Requesting employment, union, and military records on your behalf	Included in the case review

No fee unless there is a recovery. Any fee is a percentage agreed in writing before representation begins.

Veterans Asbestos Exposure Claims — questions, answered

I served aboard a ship that was overhauled at the Navy Yard. Is that the exposure, or was it sea duty?

Very often it is the overhaul. A ship in the yard had its lagging cut off and replaced while the crew went on living aboard, so the heaviest exposure in a Navy career is frequently the weeks alongside a pier rather than the years at sea. Dates and hull numbers are what pin that down.

My father was in uniform at League Island, then hired on as a civilian at the same yard. Which claim is it?

Both records matter, and they are proved differently. The service years support a VA claim and a civil claim against the manufacturers who supplied the Navy; the civilian years are an employment record with its own payroll and union files. One working life, two evidence trails.

He was at Frankford Arsenal, not the Navy Yard. Does that count?

It can. Ordnance and arsenal work involved furnaces, steam lines and insulated equipment like any other heavy plant, and a claim there runs against the companies that supplied those materials, not against the Army.

Does filing a VA claim stop me from bringing an asbestos case in Philadelphia?

No. They are separate tracks — a VA benefits claim against the government, and a civil claim against the companies that made and sold the asbestos products. Pursuing both at the same time is normal and is usually what we recommend reviewing.

Am I suing the Navy or the military if I bring an asbestos claim?

No. Civil asbestos claims are brought against the private manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products, not against the armed services.