Both the Veteran Service Organizations (commonly referred to as VSOs) and ClearTrust Claims LLP (CTC) share a common interest and goal: Helping veterans suffering from an asbestos disease obtain compensation. The VSOs help them obtain disability benefits from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). CTC was created to assist veterans to obtain compensation from the over 50 asbestos trusts that hold approximately $25 billion.
The VSOs play a major role in helping veterans receive the benefits for their service that they deserve. The VSOs have a long history in this country, dating back to the Society of Cincinnati which was formed in 1783 by American and French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution. Today, there are over 100 active VSOs with the two largest being the American Legion with approximately 2.3 million members and the Veterans of Foreign Wars with approximately 1.7 million members.
The most significant focus of the VSOs is helping veterans obtain the benefits to which they are entitled because of their service in the military. That support takes many forms. A principal one is providing trained “Service Officers” to assist veterans to obtain the VA disability benefits to which they are entitled. Among those benefits are VA disability payments for veterans suffering from asbestos diseases. As discussed in an earlier newsletter, because of the military’s widespread use of asbestos, a disproportionate number of military veterans suffer from one of the asbestos diseases. The VSO Service Officers do not assist veterans file claims with the asbestos trusts.
There is widespread advertising of the trust compensation by plaintiff law firms on TV and websites for mesothelioma and other cancer diseases for which the compensation from the trusts can reach the high six figures. The plaintiff law firms do not advertise the possibility of trust compensation for non-cancer diseases for which the trust compensation is much less. Many veterans, those suffering from a non-cancer asbestos disease, may not know that it was caused by exposure to asbestos or about the compensation that may be available to them from the asbestos trusts.
CTC is reaching out to the VSOs to help fill that information gap by educating their members about the possibility of compensation from the asbestos trusts for non-cancer asbestos diseases. CTC has published articles, placed ads, and offered online/in-person educational seminars to the VSOs. CTC has offered training and written materials for the VSO Service Officers. The purpose of that education is not to equip the Service Officers to file trust claims. It enables them to inform their VA clients about the asbestos trusts and the possibility of obtaining compensation.
The ultimate purpose of this educational process is to help ensure that more veterans suffering from an asbestos disease receive the compensation to which they are entitled.
