Navy Veteran Wins Claim for Parkinson's Tied to Agent Orange...In New Zealand

Navy veteran who won compensation battle after linking his Parkinson's to chemical exposure speaks out for first time

NZ Herald

Kurt Bayer

December 5, 2017 (New Zealand)

A New Zealand navy veteran who won a compensation battle after successfully linking his Parkinson's disease to chemical exposure in the 1960s has spoken out for the first time about the fumes he likened to solvent abuse.

A Navy veteran has spoken out for the first time about the chemical exposure he experienced during his service. Photo / File

He says despite suffering neurological pain in the 1970s after working with toxic chemicals on assignment both here and overseas, he was told to "get on with it" and that it was all in his head.

It comes after a Herald investigation found hundreds, if not thousands, of New Zealanders may have been affected by the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) in a wide range of workplaces over several decades.

In a potentially-landmark case, Veterans Affairs' has provided the ex-serviceman, who wants to remain anonymous, with an entitlement to disability compensation for Parkinson's, a condition attributed to his operational service on a Royal New Zealand Navy ship during the 1948-1960 Malayan Emergency.

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