What is the Basis for United States Anti-Terrorism Act Explosion Injury Lawsuits? Most Americans probably only have a handful of tangible information regarding the subject of terrorism. While we all hear about terrorism on television, and we see some of the worst consequences of terrorism, such as hijackings, bombings and kidnappings, not all of us have seen the results of terrorism up close and personal, and many of us are likely unaware of the underlying origins. As Americans, we should all be aware of the issues surrounding state sponsored terrorism and violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), particularly where the funding for terrorism actually comes from. When you look deeper, you realize that terrorism requires significant amounts of money.

Bottom line - terrorists use banks. This means that when American soldiers suffer devastating injuries or die as the result of a terrorist attack, any banking businesses which knowingly supplied funds to sponsors of terrorism may potentially bear a portion of the responsibility. In fact, those individuals who suffered serious injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injury, traumatic amputation, blast injuries, spinal cord injury, vision loss, or post-traumatic stress disorder may be entitled to file a U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act Lawsuit. If you or a loved one are a U.S. Veteran, a U.S. Service Member or even a family member of a veteran or contractor who suffered injury or disability, or who died in the Iraq war, you have legal rights under the United States Anti-Terrorism Act.

What Does the United States Anti-Terrorism Act Specifically Provide For? Years ago, Congress placed sanctions on Iran which were meant to prohibit the country from sponsoring terrorism or engaging in terrorist acts. Yet, according to initial anti-terrorism lawsuits in 2014, at least $100 million dollars was diverted to Iranian military operatives to facilitate terrorist attacks. As it turned out, the numbers were much higher than $100 million. Under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, any national of the United States or survivors of that person may sue for injuries received from an act of international terrorism, and 18 U.S. Code 2333B makes it a crime to knowingly provide material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations.

Which Banks Have Admitted to Violating U.S. Counter-Terrorism Sancitons? To date, a number of global banks have entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreements and Consent Orders in which they admit to violating U.S. Counter-Terrorism Sanctions.  These banks participated in large financial transactions that helped funnel billions of dollars to Iran, violating both U.S. sanctions and international law as well as the ATA. Iran was and is a well known state sponsor of terrorism, and the funds Iran obtained were ultimately used for:

• Sponsoring terrorist groups whose main goal was to attack American soldiers and contractors;
• Recruiting Sunni and Shia terrorist organizations;
• Arming, training, funding and commanding Sunni and Shia terrorists;
• Supplying weapons such as EFPs (Explosively Formed Penetrators), IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) and IRAMS (Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions) which were responsible for the injuries and death of U.S. soldiers and contractors, and
• Offering bounties to terrorists who would then attack civilians, U.S. soldiers, and coalition forces.

These banks include:

• BNP Paribas S.A.
• Barclays Plc
• Standard Chartered Bank Plc
• Commerzbank A.G.
• Credit Suisse AG
• Credit Suisse Asset Management Ltd
• HSBC Holding Group Plc

What Types of Injuries Result from IRAM, IED, EFP and RPG Explosions? Literally tens of thousands of U.S. veterans, U.S. service members, U.S. contractors and their families were harmed by Iranian-sponsored terrorism, and Iranian-sponsored terrorists were responsible for the majority of U.S. casualties in Iraq as well as some of the Afghanistan attacks. Some of the most common injuries sustained by U.S. veterans, service members and contractors include the following:

• Broken bones;
• Traumatic Brain Injury;
• Traumatic amputation;
• Blast injuries;
• Spinal cord injury;
• Vision loss, and
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Is There an Iraq War / Afghanistan War Compensation Fund for Victims? The country of Iran obtained access to U.S. dollars to recruit, pay salaries and bounties, train and arm terrorists for the specific purpose of harming U.S. soldiers and contractors throughout Iraq. In fact, more than one-fourth of all U.S. casualties which occurred during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn were sponsored by Iran. Specifically, Iran armed, trained, and funded special terrorist groups in Iraq and was the exclusive manufacturer of EFPs (explosively-formed penetrators), munitions, and advanced rockets which injured U.S. and Coalition Forces. Finally, Iran was the sponsor of Hezbollah, Ansar al-Islam and other terrorist groups, whose primary goal was to harm Americans.

Because of the deliberate acts of terrorism which injured U.S. soldiers and contractors, and by direct extension, harmed the families of those victims, The United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (USVSST) was put into effect. The USVSST Fund is meant to provide compensation to those injured by acts of state-sponsored terrorism. Any United States persons who hold a final judgment issued by a U.S. district court which awards compensatory damages arising from acts of international terrorism may be compensated under this act, as well as U.S. persons who were taken and held hostage from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran between November 4, 1979 and January 20, 1981 (or spouses and children of these hostages). Finally, the personal representatives of any deceased individual in the above two categories may be compensated under the USVSST Fund.

Getting Help from an Experienced U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act Lawyer If you are an Iraq War Veteran or Afghanistan War Veteran or Military Contractor who was injured in Iraq, or if you are a Gold Star Family Member who lost a loved one in the Iraq War or Afghanistan War, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. These explosion injury lawsuits, explosion related traumatic brain injury lawsuits and explosion related spinal cord injury lawsuits can help those injured by terrorism. These U.S. ATA lawsuits can help those who are recovering from injuries due to IEDs, EFPs, RPGs and IRAMs, or family members of loved ones who were killed as a result of terrorism.

A knowledgeable U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act Lawyer can fight for those who were injured or killed as a result of the direct violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act. We believe those who are responsible for these horrific injuries and deaths should be held accountable, and while nothing can truly ease the pain of those who suffered injury or the loved ones of those who died as a result of this state-sponsored terrorism, we can help try to hold the individuals and entities responsible for these terrorist activities accountable. A knowledgeable and experienced Iraq War Injury Lawyer / Afghanistan War Injury Lawyer can help you seek reparation for injuries and deaths related to violations of the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act.