Radiation Injury & U.S. Atomic Veterans

Radiation Injury and the Atomic Veteran: Shifting the Burden of Proof on Factual Causation
By Allan Favish

Thousands of American soldiers have been exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear explosions conducted by the United States Government. Many of these veterans are alleging this exposure has resulted in adverse health effects. The difficulty of proving such a causal relationship has frustrated most of their attempts to qualify for compensation from the Veterans Administration. In addition, the judiciary has held the United States immune from suit in these cases. This Note examines the circumstances surrounding the exposure of these soldiers and the administrative and legal barriers that now face them, including the burdens of proof regarding factual causation of radiation injury. The Note concludes that, because of the unreasonable nature of the government's conduct, the burden of proof should be shifted from the veterans to the government.

The entire article is here (4.5 MB) The article is in Volume 32, Number 4 (March 1981) of The Hastings Law Journal. Here is the Law Journal's order page.