Court to hear arguments over 1966 Spain H-bomb accident

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments involving U.S. veterans who say they were denied disability benefits after becoming ill from radiation exposure while responding to a 1966 accident involving American hydrogen bombs in Spain.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is scheduled to hear the case Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

At issue is whether a class-action lawsuit can be filed against the Veterans Affairs Department for denying disability claims.

Yale Law School students in Connecticut are representing Air Force veteran Victor Skaar, of Nixa, Missouri. They want to expand the lawsuit to include hundreds of veterans.

Radioactive plutonium was released near Palomares, Spain, in January 1966, after a U.S. B-52 bomber and refuelling plane crashed. Four hydrogen bombs crashed to the ground, but didn’t explode.