Canadian veteran’s family wins compensation for cancer linked to asbestos on military ships

HMCS Iroquois steams past the McNabs Island lighthouse in Halifax on Nov. 3, 2011. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Andrew Vaughan)

The spouse of a deceased Canadian military veteran who was diagnosed with prostate cancer 45 years after leaving the service has been granted full disability benefits after a Veterans Review and Appeal Board panel found his condition was caused by exposure to asbestos aboard navy warships.

The panel’s decision overturned an earlier ruling by Veterans Affairs Canada that had denied the spouse’s claim for benefits for service-related injuries.

The late veteran, who was not identified in the panel’s May 21 decision, served in the regular forces from 1955 until 1979, and died last year at the age of 86 following his diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer.

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When the veteran filed his benefits claim last April, he told Veterans Affairs he had served as a marine engineer aboard warships and was not provided any safety equipment while working in areas containing asbestos, according to the appeal panel’s summary of his claim.

The spouse testified that the veteran was an otherwise healthy and active non-smoker, with no known history of cancer in his family.

He worked 24 years in the boiler rooms of naval vessels and told his spouse that “when they would go to bed on the ship, they would lift the blankets and see a layer of dust rise from the blanket.”

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The appeal panel found there was no disputing that the veteran’s cancer constituted a permanent disability. The only question was whether the illness was caused or aggravated by his military service.

‘Everything around me was asbestos’

The panel considered the veteran’s own statements to Veterans Affairs, in which he described the condition of the Second World War-era frigates on which he worked as “deplorable.”

“Everything around me at all times was asbestos,” he said. “There were probably more carcinogens that I was exposed to (than) I’m aware of.”

The panel found the veteran “is presumed to have been exposed to asbestos on ships” and noted that Health Canada recognizes that breathing in asbestos fibres can cause cancer and other diseases.

It also considered an article from the Canadian Cancer Society’s website stating that it “often takes decades after exposure for an asbestos-related cancer to develop.”

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The panel concluded prostate cancer is often especially slow to progress, with few if any symptoms until its most advanced stages.

“The panel finds it reasonable to conclude the late veteran’s exposure to asbestos during service increased their risk of developing prostate cancer, which eventually resulted in their condition of metastatic prostate cancer,” the two-member appeal board panel ruled, awarding full disability benefits entitlement to the spouse effective immediately.

“The panel is grateful for the late veteran’s service and extends their condolences to their surviving spouse.”