§30.616. What happens if this type of tort suit was filed prior to October 30, 2000? — Inbound Citations

(a) A tort suit (other than an administrative or judicial proceeding for workers' compensation) that includes a claim arising out of a covered Part B employee's employment-related exposure to beryllium or radiation, filed against a beryllium vendor or an atomic weapons employer, by a covered Part B employee or an eligible surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries of a deceased covered Part B employee, will disqualify that otherwise eligible individual or individuals from receiving benefits under Part B of EEOICPA unless such claim is terminated in accordance with the requirements of §§ 30.616 through 30.619 of these regulations.

The type of tort suits described in § 30.615 may be filed by more than one individual, each with a different cause of action. For example, a tort suit may be filed against a beryllium vendor by both a covered Part B employee and his or her spouse, with the covered Part B employee claiming for chronic beryllium disease and the spouse claiming for loss of consortium due to the covered Part B employee's exposure to beryllium. However, since the spouse of a living covered Part B employee could not be an eligible surviving beneficiary under Part B of EEOICPA, the spouse would not have to comply with the termination requirements of §§ 30.616 through 30.618. A similar result would occur if a tort suit were filed by both the spouse of a deceased covered Part B employee and other family members (such as children of the deceased covered part B employee). In this case, the spouse would be the only eligible surviving beneficiary of the deceased covered Part B employee under Part B of the EEOICPA because the other family members could not be eligible for benefits while he or she was alive. As a result, the spouse would be the only party to the tort suit who would have to comply with the termination requirements of §§ 30.616 through 30.618.