CHOOSING THE RIGHT LAWYER AND ETHICAL CONCERNS A person who believes they have a cause of action under the laws of the United States has the right to hire a lawyer to represent their interests.  It is very important that you hire a lawyer that not only has the necessary experience and skills you need, but someone you can trust …

SELECCIONANDO EL ABOGADO CORRECTO Y LAS PREOCUPACIONES ÉTICAS Una persona que crea tener una causa de acción bajo las leyes de los Estados Unidos tiene derecho a contratar a un abogado que represente sus intereses.  Es muy importante contratar un abogado que no solo tenga la experiencia y las habilidades necesarias que usted necesita, sino que sea alguien en quien …

In a potentially significant development for private military contractors who sustain Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Food and Drug Administration issued final approval for a diagnosis system that uses a blood sample. Banyan Biomarkers developed a test which measures blood protein levels that are associated with “brain bleeding” and other head injuries. Doctors must draw blood …

In a previous post, we covered Landry v. KBR’s implications for burn pit victims. That same case also has tremendous meaning for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder victims. During her service in Mosul, Specialist Veronica Landry dealt with many traumatic events, even though she was a morale officer who organized karaoke sing-alongs and other events. At one such party, enemy mortar …

An imposing structure that some pundits have dubbed the “sugar cube,” and also happens to be one of the costliest facilities of its kind, is set to open in January of 2018, thanks to an army of construction workers. Considering infrastructure, construction, landscaping, and all other costs, the new United States Embassy in London, which is on the banks of …

In a follow up to a blog we posted recently, it now appears that a Syrian energy production company promised a Russian private military contractor a share of the profits from oil wells that the mercenaries liberated from ISIS. The offer may be designed to entice these fighters to remain in-country, now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has unexpectedly declared …

The federal government may be making plans to fight the next war, and rather than looking inward, it turned to the contractors at NexiTech for assistance. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the government expects NexiTech to upgrade authentication, encryption, and other passive measures into more active defenses. There is a considerable sense of urgency in this matter, …

After dismissing earlier casualty reports as “classic disinformation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry now says that “several dozen” Russian and former Soviet Republic mercenaries were wounded or killed in a U.S.-led airstrike outside Deir ez-Zor. They now join the ranks of the thousands of American private military contractors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002. The ministry stressed that the mercenaries, …

Filmmaker Greg Lovett said he did not want to make a depressing movie about burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq. “I just wanted to present the facts, and the facts are depressing,” he said. During these conflicts, rather than dispose of waste safely, commanders ordered it to be burned in huge, open-air pits where the fires often raged 24/7/365. Jessey …

In a significant development for former Iraq contractors, an administrative law judge from the Department of Labor, which administers the Defense Base Act, ruled that there is a link between burn pits and lung disease. In a well-reasoned, 19-page decision, ALJ Christopher Larsen considered the claim of Specialist Veronica Landry. Between 2004 and 2005, she worked for a KBR division …

Although Vladimir Putin does not want people to know it, mercenaries fight for money in Syria, while contractors fight for America in Afghanistan. When Russian military forces arrived in the country in 2015 to prop up the pro-Russian strongman in a longstanding civil war, mercenaries arrived, as well. Officially, 28 Russian mercenaries have died in Syria during 2017 alone, but …

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is proceeding full steam ahead with the prosecution of several former Blackwater guards who served in Iraq, much to the chagrin of many people. Given the issues in the case and the somewhat political nature of the prosecutions, many hoped that Attorney General Sessions would at least order a review of the case. But that has …