American Indian Miners With Radiation Exposure Denied Workers Compensation

Native Americans have worked for decades in the deep mines underneath the Colorado Plateau. Their job was to with drill deep into the rock and mine out soft uranium ore. The uranium that was mined was used to create nuclear warheads for the United States during the Cold War, a key factor in its victory. You will gain a deeper understanding about personal injury lawyer Melbourne by checking out that resource.

Unfortunately, a great number of these miners were also injured by this uranium mining process. Most have either died or are dying from cancers and other illnesses as a direct result of their exposure to the uranium radiation inside the mines. Many more continue to fight for their lives even as their family members and friends have already died from work related illnesses.

The arms of these miners are webbed with scars caused by dialysis. Many of the workers suffer from kidney failure, and being on dialysis is the required treatment. One or the most injurious factors in the mines was the drinking water that was provided, which has been tested and proven to be radioactive.

Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990. The goal in passing this law was to assist uranium miners who are suffering as a result of exposure to radiation while they worked the mines. This mining was undertaken strictly for the advancement of the American nuclear weapons program. Go to this site for further information on best personal injury lawyer.

According to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, each underground uranium miner is given $100,000. In order to qualify, the miner must have one of the six different lung diseases that has been linked to exposure to radiation. Unfortunately to this day hundreds of Native American miners who are eligible to receive compensation have not received it.

Indian miners find that they are confronted with hurdles that are nearly impossible for them to overcome. The paperwork, for example, must be completed in English only. However, many of the Indian miners are illiterate in English and find the forms confusing.

Only 96 of the 242 claims that have been filed through the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers have been approved. A total of 1,314 applications have been authorized by the Justice Department. But that's only half the story - 1,316 claims have been rejected.

A worker is required to provide check stubs for a record as proof of working there, plus more documentation is required to prove the specific amount of time the worker spent in the mines. Do you save your pay stubs and other work records over a period of years and decades? Obtaining copies from those in charge of the mines is also difficult.

Uranium mines, both on and around the Navajo Indian Reservation, opened in 1947. Jobs were needed in the area, so the mines were welcomed by the community. The American Indians wanted to jobs notwithstanding the low wages and poor working conditions.

One of the biggest dangers in the mines is radon. Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas created by decaying uranium. It is the radon exposure which experts believe causes the lung diseases that afflict the miners who have become eligible for the uranium mine compensation.

In order to facilitate the process of receiving compensation for their injuries, past miners and tribal leaders plan to petition Congress for modification of the bill in the fall. One problem facing the government is the common idea among Navajo miners that they will receive compensation based only on their work.