- FRANKFURT (Reuters Health) - Lawyers in the United States have been in
contact with former American soldiers who claim to have developed cancer
as a result of performing maintenance work on radar equipment, according
to a professor at Brooklyn Law School.
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- Anthony J. Sebok told Reuters Health
there was a chance that former American soldiers could take part in a class
action suit against radar manufacturers, but declined to say how many former
soldiers had made the claims.
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- "It is not a large number right
now,'' he said. But lawyers are still researching the potentially explosive
issue, and more information will be available by the end of February.
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- "If I told you now, it could be
information that could be obsolete in a week,'' he said.
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- Sebok is acting as a paid consultant
to Reiner Geulen, a Berlin-based attorney who last week announced the details
of a lawsuit he plans to file in March against the German Defense Ministry
on behalf of former German soldiers--or their survivors--alleged to have
developed cancer from working on radar systems. He currently represents
730 clients and intends to seek damages from the German government of between
75,000 and 500,000 euros per case.
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- The soldiers claim their cancers were
caused by exposure to x-rays while installing, repairing and maintaining
radar systems from the late 1950s to around 1980. The radar systems were
generally part of NATO defense systems along the then highly tense border
with Eastern Bloc nations.
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- Around 1,868 former West German and East
German soldiers or their survivors have filed claims with the Defense Ministry
jurisdiction. Of those, nearly 300 have died, mostly from leukemia, lymphatic
tumors or testicular cancer. Furthermore, around 400 other Germans who
do not fall under Defense Ministry jurisdiction have filed claims with
civilian authorities.
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- Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry
said it had processed several hundred of the claims and determined that
only five were the result of radar x-ray exposure.
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- Sebok said one of his assignments is
to help Geulen determine the feasibility of the former German soldiers
filing class action suits in US courts against the US manufacturers of
the radar systems. About 450 of Geulen's clients worked on US-manufactured
radar equipment.
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- Sebok's other main assignment was to
help find a team of lawyers who would handle such a potentially high-profile
and controversial case.
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- Asked whether there was a chance that
former American soldiers might end up being involved in a class action
suit against radar manufacturers, he said, ``I see a potential of that.''
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- Sebok declined to name the US law firm
who is currently conducting a preliminary investigation of the radar issue,
as did Geulen in a talk with Reuters Health. However, Geulen said the firm
was based in New York and that he and his Berlin law partner had scheduled
a meeting in New York with the firm for the end of February.
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- Geulen said a decision had already been
made to file a class action suit in the US against radar manufacturers
on behalf of German soldiers, as well as soldiers who had served in the
UK and Greek armies. Former US soldiers also might be included in that
suit, he said.
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- Geulen said US producers of the radar
systems in question are Raytheon (Hawk radar), Western Electric (Nike radar)
and Lockheed Martin (Starfighter radar).
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