Kategorien: Alle - veterans - congress - disability - claims

von Kai Ting Vor 7 Jahren

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Agent Orange Actor Network

During the Vietnam War, American veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide linked to severe health issues. Veterans claimed they were misled by the US Department of Defense about its toxicity, leading to a class action lawsuit that included some Australian and New Zealand veterans.

Agent Orange Actor Network

What would be needed for the court case to proceed?

Keynote however -- Funding for these labs to carry out experiments normally comes from either the government or chemical manufacturing companies.
The US government would want to show the public that they are doing something about this issue, while at the same time, not implicating themselves in the future
Chemical corporations need only find some minor misgivings in scientific literature about Agent Orange to introduce doubt on the severity of the Veteran's afflictions
The affected veterans would have to get their lawyers to source out for conclusive scientific evidence that proves Agent Orange was directly responsible for their afflictions
Could significantly sway public opinion on the case, particularly for the veterans
Especially for the veterans, having the media involved would put more pressure onto the US Government and chemical corporations.
For the case to gain traction and immediacy, the media has to be involved to set the gears moving

How would the parties involved want the case settled?

Chemical Corporations i.e. Monsanto, Dow Chemicals

For the chemical corporations, they may want to delay the court hearing for as long as possible, in the hopes that the claim for reparations settles down. i.e. The case losing relevancy, veterans dying off due to toxic effects they are suffering from
Possible defences that they might make: 1) They were contracted by the Department of Defense to manufacture Agent Orange; they had no choice 2) They followed the specifications of the DoD strictly, so therefore they should not be persecuted 3) It cannot be proven that Agent Orange directly caused the veterans' afflictions
Being a business, an unfavourable ruling could easily cost them hundreds of millions, not to mention the losses that could be incurred on the stock market

Affected Veterans

Would want the US government to bear responsibility for their damaged health and probably an apology from the government
Time is of the essence to the veterans; medical treatment for their conditions would have to be prompt
Would want a sizeable fund channelled to them for their medical expenses as well as payouts for incurred disabilities and damaged health

US Government

The resolution of the case has to be handled very delicately; too much responsibility could be very costly in the future, too little and they would be condemned by their own citizens
At the same time, they would still want to pay out a reasonable amount to their veterans to keep the American public and veterans content
Would not want the case to go to court for fear of Agent Orange being classified as a chemical weapon

Demands for Reparations i.e. Disability claims, Medical support etc.

On what grounds are the demands being made?

Their claims for health benefits range from medical support, to future losses due to their afflictions such as sterility, cancer etc.
Veterans claim that toxicity of Agent Orange was not fully disclosed to them, even though the US government, namely the Department of Defense, knew of its effects

What do they want to gain out of the potential lawsuit?

A formal apology from the US government, or at least some form of responsibility for their actions.
Timely medical subsidies and support. As the veterans face serious chronic medical conditions, they would require substantial financial support for treatment

What does this mean for the US?

While diplomatic relations between Vietnam and US were suspended in the 1980s, a ruling now might set a precedent should Vietnam seek war reparations with the US in the future
If the court rules that the US is culpable for the sufferings of the veterans, payouts in the form of financial and medical support could run to hundreds of millions for many years
An unfavourable ruling might classify Agent Orange as a chemical weapon as well, which would result in the UN intervening as using chemical weapons is a breach of international law

United Nations

While this whole issue may be primarily a domestic court case, the UN may be required to step in should the US be found guility of using chemical weapons. According to the 1907 Hague Conventions the 1925 Geneva Protocol, and the 1969 UN General Assembly Resolution, all chemical weapons are prohibited as per international law.



Ronald Reagan's Administration

Starting off his second term with overwhelming support from the American Public, Ronald Reagan would not want to disappoint his supporters. If the final resolution supports the US government too much without much benefits for the veterans, public opinion of his administration may be severely hampered. His administration has to balance finely between supporting the veterans while at the same time, not implicating themselves into a dangerous situation with global regulatory powers such as the UN.

American Public

The Vietnam War has been a thorny issue since its inception in America. Public support would undoubtedly be towards the veterans; the veterans' challenge would be to actively engage the public more to garner more support for their case against the chemical corporations.

Media

Mounting public pressure onto the government would be in the veterans' best interest as they would then be able to negotiate a better deal in their favor.


Given that the Vietnam War was terribly unpopular amongst the general population of the time, further showcasing the plight of the American Veterans would vilify the government even further, which may sway public opinion in the veterans' favor. This might result in having the current administration more willing to accede to the demands of the veterans to win back popular support.


Also, the media would play a large role in educating the masses about the detrimental health effects of Agent Orange, which is essential to building the case against the chemical corporations and by extension, the DoD.

Vietnam

Vietnam should be invested into the development of this case as they would be aware of how the resolution of this case may have repercussions on their future attempts at seeking recompense.


Although their diplomatic relations with the US were suspended in the 1970s and 80s, there were attempts by foreign journalists to uncover the aftermath of Agent Orange on Vietnam soil. If news about Vietnam's condition were to be publicized, there would be ever-growing public pressure on the US government to resolve the issue of Agent Orange

Research Laboratories

Would play a key role in determining the direct toxicity of dioxin on the affected claimants. However, a particular challenge they face is that, this lawsuit was only raised in 1979, with the case only making court in 1984, a full 10 years after US withdrew its forces in Vietnam. How could the veterans prove conclusively, that Agent Orange was the source of their afflictions?


This being said, it was widely known that dioxin did have serious consequences on human health upon exposure to it, even in minute concentrations ranging from 1 to 5 parts per billion.


However, since the claims that the veterans' are making are for afflictions with many varied causes (such as cancer, where environmental, genetic factors play a large part), the labs have a tough challenge in conclusively proving that Agent Orange was the defining cause of their afflictions.

Department of Defense (DoD)

The initial defendant of the case that was planned to be mounted by the American Veterans seeking reparations. Since directives were to be handed out directly from the Department of Defence, it is only natural for the directives to be traced back towards its issuing source and to be held responsible.


However, because of a previous Supreme Court ruling (Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 in 1950), the affected veterans would not be able to take the US government to court. As such, a different method of approach would have to be deviced.


Furthermore, as an executive branch department of the federal government, an unfavorable ruling that implicates the DoD could have serious repercussions even on the global stage.

American Veterans who served in Vietnam War

Claims for reparation were made based on the grounds of being misled by the US Department of Defense into thinking that Agent Orange was not toxic.


American veterans in particular were the plaintiffs of the case, while some Australian and New Zealand veterans who served in the Vietnam War were included in the class action lawsuit as well.


Disability claims ranged from acute afflictions such as chloracne and severe neuropathy (nerve pain) to more chronic conditions such as various cancers and sterility. Also, claims were being made because of the teratogenic effects Agent Orange potentially had on the offspring of the American Veterans

United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The VA is the avenue for veterans to make their disability claims to receive due recompense for injuries sustained in their line of service. Also, the VA happens to operate the nation's largest integrated direct health care delivery system, primarily because of the veterans under its care.


However, being a subsidiary of the DoD, the VA would not be able to approve of any disability claims because of Agent Orange as that would be akin to admission of guilt over the use of Agent Orange. That is why questions were raised when Congress appointed the VA to conduct "independent" studies into the effects of Agent Orange in 1979. Three years after they were instructed by Congress to do so, their study turned up with nothing to show for.


How would they be able to define what are "injuries due to Agent Orange exposure" without implicating the DoD?

Resolution of Demands

Resolving demands that were made will be really tough. On the one hand, if the government admits to being privy to knowledge of Agent Orange's carcinogenic effects, they would suffer a "peaceful defeat" at the hands of its own veterans. Also, it would also further condemn its involvement in the Vietnam War. It would also set a precedent and a strong case for Vietnam, if in the future, when they decide to pursue claims of reparations from the US. As admitting that Agent Orange was a chemical weapon would be tantamount to admitting its flouting of international laws, the US administration would be unlikely to grant its own veterans their claims.

On the other hand, if the government were to shut out the veterans' claims directly, further animosity would be generated between the public and the current administration. In addition to this, a failure to support its own disabled veterans would severely cripple public confidence in its own government

Case for Reparations

For a successful case to be launched, the plaintiffs would have to prove conclusively that their current afflictions are solely due to Agent Orange exposure.


For the defendants, it would be easier on them as they would only have to introduce doubt onto the research being conducted into dioxin toxicity.


A key consideration here for both parties here would be the issue of time. For the veterans, it is of paramount importance that they settle the issue as soon as possible, so that the needy afflicted veterans can begin medical treatment promptly. On the other hand, it may be beneficial for chemical corporations to drag out the proceedings as the relevancy of the case may diminish over time due to the death of the veterans, less public interest in the case etc.


(They might want to settle the case faster as at that point in time, scientific information about the long-term effects of dioxin were rather scarce, which may work in their favor)

Chemical Manufacturers i.e. Monsanto, Dow Chemicals etc.

Arguably, they were privately contracted by the Department of Defence (DoD) to produce the required chemicals for the Vietnam War.


How can the chemical companies absolve themselves of the blame that the veterans would soon direct at them? Some of the possible tactics that they could employ would be to claim that

1) They had no choice as they were mandated by the DoD


2) They had fully adhered to the specifications given to them by the DoD and were not responsible for any misuse


3) The chemicals were not the cause of the veterans' disabilities


An unfavorable ruling against them would cost the companies hundreds of millions, maybe even billions of dollars as reparations would be long-lasting, as they would have to pay for the futures that were lost.

Demand for compensation

Filing for compensation against the US government faces a series of challenges. Firstly, the affected veterans would have to prove that their current affliction is due to exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Secondly, they would also have to prove that their current affliction is entirely due to their exposure during the war and not anything else. Furthermore, the US is not likely to acknowledge the toxicity of Agent Orange for a multitude of reasons

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