I. What are the legal fees and costs of bringing a claim?
All legal fees under the RECA or EEOICPA programs are contingent, which means that if the client does not get paid, then the attorney does not receive payment either. The contingency fee is 2% of the recovery for any initial claims. The fee increases to 10% for any claims that have been previously filed and denied and are now being refiled. The client is responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in obtaining documents or information, including investigative services, in support of the claim.
II. How do I determine whether I or my family is eligible for compensation?
Below are several simple questions that, if answered ‘yes’ to, might mean that you or a family member or someone you know are eligible. If you or a family member have had an internal cancer or leukemia any time after 1956 (even if the family member is deceased), or if you yourself are diagnosed with cancer and if any one of the following enumerated criteria apply to you, you could be eligible for compensation:
I. Have one of the following compensable diseases:
Leukemia
Multiple Myeloma
Lymphomas (other than Hodgkin’s disease)
Primary cancer of the thyroid
Primary cancer of the male or female breast
Primary cancer of the esophagus
Primary cancer of the stomach
Primary cancer of the pharynx
Primary cancer of the small intestine
Primary cancer of the pancreas
Primary cancer of the bile ducts
Primary cancer of the gall bladder
Primary cancer of the salivary gland
Primary cancer of the urinary bladder
Primary cancer of the brain
Primary cancer of the colon
Primary cancer of the ovary
Primary cancer of the liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated)
Primary cancer of the lung
II. Lived in the state of New Mexico for a period of at least 12 months between September, 1944 and November, 1962, or during the month of July, 1962.
III. Lived in either of the following states for a period of at least 12 months between January, 1951 and November, 1962, or during the month of July, 1962:
Idaho
Utah
IV. Lived in any of the following counties for a period of at least 12 months between January, 1951 and November, 1962, or the month of July, 1962:
Arizona: Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, Gila, and Mohave
Nevada: White Pine, Nye, Lander, Lincoln, Eureka, and the portion of Clark County that consists of townships 13-16 at ranges 63-71
V. Was physically present at any of the following ‘onsite’ locations during a period of atmospheric nuclear testing:
Nevada Test Site
Sites in the Pacific Ocean
VI. Performed some duty in an uranium mine or mill, or were transporting uranium or in the following states (please note that other illnesses may also be covered for those under this section, see below):
Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Compensable diseases for Uranium Workers include:
Lung cancer
Pulmonary fibrosis
Fibrosis of the lung
Cor pulmonale related to fibrosis of the lung
Silicosis
Pneumoconiosis
Renal (kidney) cancer
Any other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury
VII. Worked in a nuclear weapons industry facility or for one of its contractors anywhere in the United States and were exposed to either radiation, beryllium or silica, or were present in a gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; or Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
If one or more of the above criteria applied to you, please reference the CONTACT page and call Mr. Daranyi’s office to discuss the possibility of filing a claim on your or your family member’s behalf.
Please Note: The RECA program and the EEOICPA program are both regulated and administered under federal statutory and regulatory provisions. The claims discussed here are not lawsuits in the traditional way that most people understand lawsuits. These are administrative claims. Additionally, no claimant or potential claimant is required to hire an attorney to assist him or her in the bringing of this type of claim.
III. How long does it take for a claim to be decided?
If a claim is filed with either the Department of Justice or Department of Labor, claims can take anywhere from six to twelve months to be administered. Some claims, depending on complexity and other factors, can take longer than a year. It’s impossible to predict how long a claim will take; however, for very elderly or very ill claimants, there is a possibility to expedite the claim.
IV. Can I file these claims on my own? Do I need an attorney to do this?
You do not need to retain an attorney to file one of these claims. However, statistics indicate that claimants who are represented by attorneys have a much higher rate of approval than those filed without. If you do decide to file on your own, it is possible for Mr. Daranyi to provide you with some general direction.
V. If a claim was previously denied by RECA or the EEOICPA, can it be refiled or re-submitted?
In some circumstances, claims can be refiled and re-submitted to RECA or the EEOICPA programs. If you or someone you know has previously filed a claim that has been denied by the government on one or more grounds, Mr. Daranyi can review the denial decision with you and give you counsel as to whether or not the claim can or should be refiled. In the event that a claim is refiled after denial, Mr. Daranyi’s fee increases to 10% of the ultimate recovery, if successful.