[rosser]

St. George, UT, downwind of the Yucca Flats test site, had a markedly increased cancer rate among the people who lived there at the time. A friend's aunt had her thyroid removed as a teenager, presumably consequent to fallout exposure from nuclear weapons testing. (Naturally, the government made her and her family agree never to say, or even speculate aloud about why it was done when they paid for the surgery...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George,_Utah#Nuclear_conta...

[malandrew]

    "Naturally, the government made her and her family agree 
    never to say, or even speculate aloud about why it was 
    done when they paid for the surgery..."

I find it shocking that we afford the government the unilateral right to gag an individual from talking in exchange for treatment owed. I would hope that our judicial system would review such an arrangement and nullify a non-disclosure clause in this incident. Near as I can tell it sounds like your friend's aunt never entered into a binding legal relationship with those that contributed to her cancer until after it had been demonstrated that they were at fault. How those responsible can get a judgement or arbitration that includes such a non-disclosure when that party is so obviously wrong and at fault is simply mind-boggling.

[philwelch]

Most out-of-court settlements entail non-disclosure and non-disparagement. It's fairly standard.