Sep
8
Native American Miners Should Receive Workers’ Compensation
Filed Under Back and Spine Injury Attorneys
Far beneath the Colorado Plateau, American Indians have labored for tens of years in the mines there. These miners were drilling for a powdery yellow ore that we’ve all heard of - uranium. This uranium was used in the nuclear warheads that the US deployed around the country and that eventually helped win the Cold War. More information on the topic of lawyers is located at altona personal injury lawyers.
Yet, a great number of these very miners became victims of the Cold War. Because of the radiation present within the mines, many have either been killed, or are afflicted by cancer and similar illnesses. Many have lost family members and even those that have survived continue to fight for their life.
Heavily scarred arms from dialysis treatments is common among the survivors of the radiation. Such dialysis is required to keep miners who suffer from kidney failure alive. Most workers blame the drinking water in the mines which has been scientifically proven to contain traces of radioactive minerals.
In 1980, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed by Congress. Congress intended to provide uranium miners who have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation with some much needed assistance in dealing with the pain they suffer every day. It is important to keep in mind that the majority of this work was strictly committed to the nuclear weapons program here in America. More expert lawyers information is located at compensation solicitor box hill.
According to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, each underground uranium miner is given $100,000. The condition being that they experience one of six lung diseases linked to radiation exposure. Unfortunately, many of the American Indian miners that are entitled to the benefit have yet to receive any compensation.
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. The problem for these Indian miners is the fact many of them do not understand English that well.
Of the 242 miners who have applied for compensation through the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers, only 96 have been approved. A total of 1,314 claims from uranium workers have been approved by the Justice Department. But there have been an additional 1,316 applications denied.
Documentation, such as check stubs, are required to prove the miners’ work hours. Workers who spend time mining, decades ago, do not usually keep stubs from their paychecks. In addition, it been shown that obtaining them through the authorities is also difficult.
The uranium mines first opened on and around the Navajo Indian Reservation in 1947. During this period, the Navajo were glad to see an opportunity for employment. This was despite the low wages and poor conditions offered.
One of the biggest dangers in the mines is radon. Radon is a radioactive gas, that is both ordorless and colorless, which is a result of decaying uranium. The government provides compensation to these miners because the lung diseases that most are suffering from is caused by radon exposure.
This fall tribal officials, former miners and their supporters will ask Congress to change the law so that former miners will not have such a difficult time applying for their compensation. The government’s dilemma lies with the fact that the Navajo miners believe the quality of their work determines the reimbursement they collect.
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