Proving Causation of Illness

PROVING CAUSATION OF ILLNESS

In the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), the term “causation” means determining if a qualifying illness came from the worker’s exposure to radioactivity or toxic substances in the workplace.

Under Part B of EEOICPA, a claimant must have worked at a nuclear weapons facility and received a cancer, chronic beryllium disease or silicosis diagnosis. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) established its Division of Compensation Analysis and Support (DCAS) in 2010. DCAS estimates whether work-related radiation exposure caused cancer in certain workers through a process called dose reconstruction. Workers are exempted from dose reconstruction if they qualify under a Special Exposure Cohort (SEC).

Alternatively, claimants can qualify for monetary compensation and free health care because of illnesses related to exposure to toxic substances under Part E of EEOICPA. The U.S. Department of Labor ( U.S. DOL) staff decides on the causation of these illnesses.