French Government agrees nuclear test personal injury claims
THE French government has for the first time in nearly 50 years agreed to pay personal injury compensation to people affected by fallout from its nuclear tests.
The country has carried out 210 such tests since its first, exploded in the Algerian Desert in 1960, but has until now refused to pay out on personal injury claims.
It decision leaves the UK as the only nuclear power unprepared to settle personal injury claims, even though the High Court in London ruled last Friday that a group of more than 1,000 veterans has the right to sue the Ministry of Defence for compensation. However, the case is likely to take years to reach any conclusion.
Both soldiers and locals that witnessed the 1960 Saharan explosion say they were exposed to potentially deadly radiation and have suffered a variety of health problems, from aggressive cancers to minor cardio-vascular complaints. It is likely that they will now move ahead with personal injury claims.
Until now, only France had stood with the UK in denying general liability for health problems suffered by those present at nuclear tests. The US, Russia and China all have mechanisms in place for paying out personal injury claims.