Legal Help for Coast Guard Veterans Diagnosed With Mesothelioma

Coast Guard Veterans Exposed to Asbestos

As we know it today, The United States Coast Guard was founded in 1915. However, its history of protecting our shorelines and waterways traces back to 1790.

The many types of protection the USCG provides arguably makes them the most diverse branch in our armed forces. The USCG has always had a host of duties it's responsible for maintaining.

Many USCG activities occurred aboard ships and other vessels that contained asbestos. This puts nearly every veteran of the Coast Guard at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Asbestos is an excellent insulating and fireproofing material. For this reason, the Coast Guard used it in ship construction from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Asbestos endangered Coast Guardsmen, who built, repaired, and sailed these ships - especially those who served from WWII to the Vietnam War era. Even if your exposure was from years ago, you're still at risk.

Cancers like mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer can take decades to develop.

If you're a Coast Guard Veteran and have been diagnosed with any of these diseases. Our team of mesothelioma lawyers are here to help you get the compensation you deserve.

We Help Protect our Coast Guardsmen

If you served in the Coast Guard from the 1980s or before, you've risked asbestos exposure. Asbestos dust exposure is the only known cause of mesothelioma.

If you are a veteran and have been diagnosed with any type of cancer, we're here to help.

‍The following legal options may be available to you:

• Veteran's Benefits (If Your Diagnosis is Service Related)
• Asbestos Trust Fund Claims
• Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit(not required)
• Administrative Defendants (settle without a lawsuit)
• Social Security Disability (SSD/SSI)

Filing an Asbestos case with Dickey Law Firm will never take away your Veteran's Benefits.

If you already receive veteran's benefits, you can also pursue compensation from the asbestos companies while still receiving your existing payments and benefits.

Find out instantly how much your potential case could be worth by filling out our Free Veterans Mesothelioma Case Value Calculator.

We Go After Those Responsible-The Asbestos Companies

The Coast Guard is "Always Ready" to keep our homeland safe and waterways clear. We're ready to help our Coast Guardsman seek the justice they deserve.

When pursuing compensation for your injury or illness, we go after those responsible: the asbestos companies - never the military.

These companies made money selling products and materials to the Coast Guard, knowing the harm they could cause to our veterans.

Asbestos Exposure in the Coast Guard

Like the Navy, the Coast Guard was known to use a large amount of asbestos. Asbestos was once considered an essential building material in most ships and could be found in many equipment components.

However, it wasn't only used on ships. It was also used in ground transportation vehicles, military bases, and buildings.

Exposure on Coast Guard Vessels

Many of the larger ships that the Coast Guard would use contained asbestos. Asbestos was often found in engine rooms, around boilers, and around piping. It could also be used as insulation for the hull of the vessel.

If the asbestos was disturbed in any way, its microscopic fibers would be released into the air. Once in air circulation, it would be easy for anyone on board to breathe or swallow these fibers, exposing thousands.

One of the unique duties that the Coast Guard performs is water vehicle inspections. These inspections posed the most significant risks of asbestos exposure for Coast Guardsmen, as inspectors would enter the most hazardous areas of commercial and cargos ships.

Coast Guard officers were actually found to have a higher mortality rate than the officers of other branches due to this exposure.

Another unique characteristic of the Coast Guard is its use of ice-breaking ships. Ice breakers could often have double the amount of asbestos as many other crafts, as they would contain a second or third boiler. The water heated in these boilers would be used to melt ice to weaken it for breaking.

By filling out our Free Veterans Mesothelioma Case Value Calculator, you can always see how much compensation your case could be worth.

A few other known Coast Guard vessels that contained asbestos were:

• Cutters
• Utility boats
• Long-range interceptors
• Seagoing buoy tenders
• Tug boats
• Transportable port security boats

Even if you didn't serve on any of these particular vessels, you could still be at risk. Asbestos was also used in many applications on the ground, like transport vehicles and Coast Guard buildings like barracks.

Our law firm has spent decades tracking down exposure for Coast Guard veterans. If you served in the coast guard and were diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer, let our team of professionals help you find where you were exposed.

Coast Guard Shipyards

As asbestos was used as a primary building component of ships. The veterans that worked to build and maintain these vessels were especially at risk.

Many of these veterans served in Coast Guard-operated Shipyards like the Curtis Shipyard in Baltimore.

These shipyards workers would be responsible for the maintenance of these vessels, and their decommission. When a ship is decommissioned, it is completely dismantled. This would include its parts that contained asbestos.

Any work done installing or removing this material would require it to be cut, shaped, or sanded. When this happens, dust containing asbestos would be formed. The workers would often be exposed to this dust daily.

The barracks and buildings of the shipyards were also known to contain asbestos.

Asbestos was commonly found in building products used by the Coast Guard from the 1940s-1980sa could be found in roofing and flooring tiles, siding material, boiler and pipe insulation, floor tiles, and drywall materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was I exposed to asbestos if my mother/father served in the Coast Guard?

Yes, you were potentially exposed to asbestos through your parent's Coast Guard service through secondhand exposure. Asbestos fibers travel home on hair, skin, and clothing. Uniforms and other clothing worn home or laundered at home bring asbestos fibers to be breathed or swallowed by family members.

Can I get mesothelioma if I only served for a couple of years in the Coast Guard?

Yes, you can get mesothelioma or lung cancer even if you served a few months in the Coast Guard.

Mesothelioma is a "low dose disease" which takes very little exposure to develop cancer. Lung cancer requires more asbestos fibers to be trapped in the lungs, but that can happen in just a few months of Coast Guard service.

Could I get mesothelioma from being in the Coast Guard recently?

Yes, even recent Coast Guard service may cause harmful asbestos exposure and lead to mesothelioma. After the 1980s, most sources of new asbestos products used in ships, shipyards, and coastal bases were discontinued.

Everything constructed before 1980 contains significant asbestos materials. Many of these ships, buildings, and bases are still in use today.