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UK Nuclear veterans dying as they await legal procedings

“Claimants are dying at a rate of three each month, so the sooner the government stops wasting time and money on procedural issues and allows a judge to finally decide the matter, the happier the claimants will be.”

Veterans want court fight after exposure to nuclear radiation Bournemouth Echo,  27th February 2011 By Fiona Pendlebury » VETERANS fighting to be allowed to sue the government after being exposed to nuclear radiation in the 1950s and 1960s are awaiting a key ruling from the Supreme Court.

The former servicemen, including around 10 from Dorset, claim they contracted cancer and other rare illnesses after being present during nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean and Maralinga in South Australia.

They are set to find out in March whether their appeal can proceed, which could lead to their cases going to full trial by the end of the year.

The UK carried out nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean and Maralinga, involving more than 20,000 servicemen between 1952 and 1967. Of 2,500 men surveyed in 1999, at least 30 per cent had died and their grandchildren had higher than usual abnormalities……

Neil Sampson, from Rosenblatt solicitors, representing veterans, said: “Claimants are dying at a rate of three each month, so the sooner the government stops wasting time and money on procedural issues and allows a judge to finally decide the matter, the happier the claimants will be.”

Veterans want court fight after exposure to nuclear radiation (From Bournemouth Echo)

March 1, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, UK