Class action lawsuit sought over 1966 Spain H-bombs accident
HARTFORD, Conn. — Veterans who say they responded to a 1966 accident involving U.S. hydrogen bombs in Spain and then became ill from radiation exposure asked a federal appeals court on Monday to allow a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Yale Law School students in Connecticut filed the request with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims on behalf of veterans who sought disability benefits from the VA but were denied. The students represent Air Force veteran Victor Skaar, of Nixa, Missouri, and want to include other veterans who believe they deserve VA benefits.
The motion names Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin as the defendant. The VA said Monday it hadn’t seen the filing and couldn’t address it.
On Jan. 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber and a refuelling plane crashed into each other during a refuelling operation near the southern Spanish village of Palomares, killing seven of 11 crew members but no one on the ground. At the time, the U.S. was keeping nuclear-armed warplanes in the air near the Soviet border as the Cold War was in full swing.