Were you previously denied for an EEOICPA Claim by the Department of Labor? If so, your claim may be eligible for reconsideration. Over the last few months, the Department of Labor has made many adjustments to the qualifications for an EEOICPA Claim. Do you think your case should be reconsidered? Give us a call at (877) 450-8665 or fill out the form below.

SEM Matrix Updates

Recently, the DOL updated their database of toxic chemicals at many different plants. The updated SEM Matrix includes information from 22 different Department of Energy Sites including the Nevada Test Site, Rocky Flats, and Oak Ridge Y-12. In fact, the Nevada Test Site increased their information by over 34%! Information for the updates came from public submittals and information from the DOL District Offices.

The SEM Matrix is a database used for all claims that go through NIOSH or are not one of the SEC Sites. Typically cases that are denied through this process occur because there was less than a 50% chance that the chemicals affected your cancer. If this is why you were denied, give us a call today!

Closure Profiles

For the first time, the Department of Labor began including information on the toxic substances workers involved with the clean-up of the Rocky Flats site. The Department of Labor plans to add information on other sites throughout the next few months. We will be sure to keep you informed on all new closure related updates.

Approved SEC Sites

Additionally, with the ever growing list of Approved SEC Sites, your claim may have an opportunity to be revisited. To see the latest SEC Sites list, you can visit the Department of Labor’s website.

If your case was previously denied, and you want to speak to our office please call us at (877) 450-8665 or fill out the form below.

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On Tuesday at approximately 8:30am, the Hanford Nuclear Site went into an immediate lockdown. An alert went out stating that a tunnel used to house contaminated radioactive materials was breached. Employees were sent to precautionary sheltering and later sent home. As of now, there is no indication that the contamination spread. Additionally, there are currently zero employee injuries.

The tunnel, known as PUREX (Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant), was found to have a 20 foot wide hole. The hole was found during a routine inspection of the Hanford Cleanup. During the Cold War the tunnel held rail cars loaded with contaminated equipment. There is no clear explanation for the recent creation of the hole.

As of now, there is no shelter-in-place order for the residents surrounding Hanford.

If you or a loved one worked at a DOL Approved site after 1995, you may be eligible for EEOICPA Compensation. If you have not submitted a claim, or were previously denied, contact our firm today to see how we can help.

The Department of Labor recently rescinded a policy denying most claims after 1995 based on the assumption that chemical exposure decreased that year. The former policy was established in 2014 by Circular No 15-06. Thanks to the recommendation by the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health, the policy was rescinded. This is one of many changes the Advisory Board has assisted in changing.

What The New Law Means

• If you worked at a DOL Approved Site after 1995, you are now subject to the same burden of proof as all other claims
• You must have worked at least 250 days at one of the approved sites
• You must have developed one of the approved cancers
• Typically, you will be eligible for Part E funding

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Subcontractor Database from Department of Labor is Now Available Online.

The Department of Labor Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) has released their contractor and subcontractor database online. All companies known to have a contract with a nuclear weapons facility or the Department of Labor will be added into the database. Currently, there is ongoing research to identify as many contractors and subcontractors as possible. New contractors are added to the database after DEEOIC approval.

This database is one of the sources of information used by the DEEOIC Claims Examiners to verify employment status. However, the database should not be used as the only basis for establishing a claim. There are many other requirements including: diagnosis, what facility you were employed with, and when you were employed. For more information on EEOICPA Requirements visit our eligibility page.

To read the database please visit www.btcomp.org.

If you or a loved one owned a home in Rocky Flats as of June 7th 1989 – you may be eligible for the recently settled $375 million Rocky Flats Home Owners Class Action Case. To see the area eligible, check out the map below. After months of waiting, there is an update on moving forward with your potential claim.

If you believe that you fit the criteria for the Rocky Flats Home Owners Settlement please contact Susan Leo of Berger & Montague. She is handling the coordination for residents and the distribution.

You can contact Susan at 215-875-3081 or by email at [email protected].

If you or a loved one worked at Rocky Flats and developed cancer, you may be eligible for other forms of compensation. Please visit our Rocky Flats Workers page for more information.

The first Sub-Committee meeting on improving the EEOICPA Process will take place this Wednesday at 10:00am EST. See below for more information on how to call in and participate.

June 29, 2016: Meeting of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health: Subcommittee on Evidentiary Requirements for Part B Lung Conditions (Area #3)

Meeting Type: Subcommittee, Teleconference, Public, Written Comments only

Time: Wednesday, June 29, 2016: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Eastern time

Virtual Meeting Participation: The subcommittee meeting will be open to the public.

There will not be a public comment session. Written comments may be submitted to [email protected] by June 22, 2016.

To join this virtual meeting, please follow the below steps. The Webex link will allow you to see materials being discussed, and the phone number will allow you to listen in to this discussion. If you wish to only participate via telephone call, you only need to complete Step 1.
1.Call 800-369-1712 and enter Participant Code 3535458 #

2.Click on this link:
Join WebEx meeting
Meeting number: 647 675 503
Meeting password: ABSubPartB3! (the password should be pre-filled but can be entered)

3.When prompted, enter your name and email address

4.When prompted, either click “Run” or download the Cisco WebEx app (make sure ad-blocking software is turned off)

IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE CONNECTING PLEASE EMAIL: [email protected]

The lawyers at Markovits, Stock & DeMarco have finalized a $375 million settlement in the Rocky Flats case against Dow Chemical. The case has been open since the initial filing in 1990. As many as 15,000 homeowners in a 16 square-mile area near Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refugee may qualify for part of the settlement. If you were a home owner as of June 7th 1989 in the specified area, you may be eligible for compensation after the compensation process begins. To see a general map of the area, view the map created by The Denver Post below.

Louise Roselle and Paul De Marco are two of the lawyers from Markovits, Stock & DeMarco who represented the residents of Rocky Flats that were harmed by the downwind affects from the Rocky Flats plant. While our team has worked on many other cases regarding nuclear facility sites, including Fernald, Hanford, Mound, Piketon, and Cotter Mill, the Rocky Flats case is the largest nuclear settlement the firm has settled.

Louise Roselle was one of the attorneys leading the class action lawsuit. She stated, “We are very pleased that after 26 years we finally have achieved a settlement for the families that lived around Rocky Flats.” Her work had earned her and the entire trial team 2009 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the America’s Public Interest Law Firm, specifically for their work on the Rocky Flats Case.

Paul De Marco added, “This result is a tribute to the perseverance of the dedicated plaintiffs and their attorneys, who had to overcome defeats, disappointments, and government-funded opposition to secure this measure of justice for Rocky Flats’ neighbors.”

Continued Work on Nuclear Facilities

The Markovits, Stock & DeMarco team has continued to assist the workers and residents surrounding nuclear facilities site through their website www.coldwarcancerfund.com. On the site they detail how workers of certain nuclear facility sites who have developed cancer may qualify for EEOICPA Claims. Additionally, they provide resources for RECA and Downwinder claims for cases similar to the Rocky Flats Settlement.

Individuals who believe they may qualify for an EEOICPA, RECA, or Downwinder claim can visit www.coldwarcancerfund.com or call the Markovits, Stock & DeMarco office at (513) 651-3700 for assistance.

About Markovits, Stock & DeMarco

The attorneys at Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC have worked on a wide variety of commercial disputes and complex litigation matters. We have litigated both for and against some of the largest corporations in the United States, in some of the highest exposure and highest stakes cases. But we also pride ourselves on our ability to obtain results for our clients – no matter the size of the dispute. We do not throw hordes of lawyers and time at each case; instead we bring to bear the most experienced lawyers with the best fit to the case, and keep the staffing both lean and efficient.

Toxic Substances and Worker Health Advisory Board Recommends EEOICPA Changes

Last week the Toxic Substances and Worker Health Advisory Board met for their first public meeting. Throughout the meeting they held various discussions regarding the EEOICPA Claim Process, eligibility for an EEOICPA Claim, and took the first ever public feedback on the EEOICPA Process. During the public comments, the advisory board learned about some of the improvements that can be made in the EEOICPA Claim process. Please note, that the following are simply reccomendations, no official changes have been made as of the writing of this post.  To read the official recommendations visit the Regulations.gov website.

Some of the recommended changes include the following:

• If your only proof of employment is a written affidavit or declaration by an employee, survivor, or other person then your claim may be examined by the Office of Workers Compensation Programs.
• Due to difficulty proving causation of occupational illness the DOE should accept written medical evidence where the physician describes “the reasoning for their opinion regarding causation”.
• Claimants should be able to change physicians without approval of the Office of Workers Compensation Programs.
• The board is concerned that changes may unnecessarily limit benefits to beryllium-exposed workers who should be eligible for the EEOICPA Program.
• If the illness harmed retirement savings or wage loss then the employee should be compensated for that loss.
• Workers who were involved in delivering hazardous materials should be included in coverage of EEOICPA.

While no changes were officially approved, the advisory board reports directly to the Secretary of Labor. To learn more about any official changes in the EEOICPA Program keep track of our blog. If at any time you have questions about the EEOICPA Process or any potential changes, you can contact our firm by calling (513) 651-3700 or email us at [email protected]

This week the Department of Labor will be hosting the first Meeting of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health. During the three day meeting, there will be time available for public comments. The meetings will take place in the US. Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Building from 8:00am – 6:00pm on Tuesday & Wednesday, and 8:00am – 3:00pm on Thursday.

The public meeting is the first time that the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health has ever met. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce the board members to the EEOICP Law, logistics, implementation, and listen to public comments. Additionally, they will discuss organizing future board meetings, committees, and logistics. You can read a full copy of the agenda at the Department of Labor’s website.

Additionally, the Advisory Board will be making all of the documents and presentations available to the public. These documents include: overview of EEOICP, Benefits, statistics, and other reports. You can also find these documents on the Department of Labor’s website.

Public Comments Information

Recently, the Department of Labor clarified that a deceased person who was misdiagnosed may still be eligible for an EEOICPA Claim.

As long as your lost loved one is still eligible for an EEOICPA Cancer Claim, by working at an approved SEC site for at least 250 days and the post-life diagnosis is one of the approved cancers, then you can file an EEOICPA Claim.

Even though this option is available to all, it does not guarantee that the Department of Labor will approve the post-life cancer diagnosis. The most likely way to have the claim approved would be to keep detailed documentation of the doctor visits, screenings, and medical records. After you gather that documentation, contact a local cancer clinic or your family physician and ask if your deceased loved one may have been wrongfully diagnosed.

If your doctor believes that your loved one should have been diagnosed with one of the EEOICPA approved cancers, ask your doctor to provide in writing the best medical documentation as to why your loved one should have been diagnosed with cancer.

After you have medical opinions backing your EEOICPA Claim, or have any questions regarding a potential claim, please contact our firm by calling (513) 945-1939 or filling out the form below.

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