Monday, July 15, 2013

US firms ordered to pay over Agent Orange

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE
Seoul - South Korea's highest court on Friday upheld a ruling ordering two US Agent Orange makers to compensate 39 Vietnam War veterans, while sending another decision back to a lower court for review.
The Supreme Court recognised the correlation between the toxic defoliant and certain skin diseases, saying the 39 victims should receive a total of 466 million won ($415 000) from Dow Chemical and Monsanto.
The veterans had complained that Agent Orange was responsible for skin diseases such as “chemical acne”, which is caused by exposure to dioxin contained in Agent Orange, the court said.
Payment is now up to the US firms, but Dow Chemical said in a statement quoted by Yonhap news agency that it disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, arguing that the verdict was not backed by clear evidence, citing US court rulings.
The South Korean court also sent back an appeals court verdict that the two firms should compensate thousands of other veterans who claimed to have similarly suffered from exposure to defoliants used during the Vietnam War.
READ MORE: http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE

No comments:

Post a Comment