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Veterans seeking compensation will have to wait
VETERANS seeking compensation from the Government over claims they suffered from atomic fallout they were exposed to in the 1950s will have to wait until after Easter to discover if their claims can go ahead.
The ex-servicemen, their widows and families claim that the men were made ill by radiation exposure following nuclear tests in the Pacific and mainland Australia in the 1950s.
The claims, if successful, could potentially cost the Ministry of Defence hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation payments for a wide range of health problems.
Over the last three weeks, MoD lawyers have tried to convince Mr Justice Foskett to halt the claims before they even get to a full trial.
But the judge has said he will consider the evidence and submissions before making a decision.
He said: "I am a team of one, so, I am afraid, from now on I have an awful lot to read, re-read and mull over before being able to give a final decision."
Around 1,000 veterans from all three armed services are claiming hundreds of millions of pounds in damages for injuries ranging from skin conditions to cancer and death.
The High Court claims relate to bomb testing in mainland Australia and the Pacific by the Ministry of Defence at the height of the Cold War in the 1950s.
The Ministry of Defence has tried to derail the compensation cases, claiming it is too late to launch personal injury actions.
The MOD says the Limitation Act 1980 provides a "time bar" which prevents the veterans from launching their claims outside of a set period after they became aware that they had a valid claim.
Lawyers for the veterans say they suffered personal injuries of all types, ranging from minor injuries and skin conditions to cancers of the thyroid, liver, intestine and lungs and even death.
But some argue the effects extended even to the men's families and thousands of their children.
The High Court judge is now expected to give his judgment after Easter.
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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