Who You'll Work With

Meet the Team & Account Specialists

What each person does for your file day to day.

Co-Founder

Jaxon Cummings

Leading outreach, affiliate partnerships, and community engagement. Jaxon travels across Utah, Arizona, and Nevada conducting in-person town halls and assisting families with their initial intake.

Co-Founder

Jonny Schmidt

Managing operations, records retrieval, and document verification. Jonny oversees the case management team ensuring that every historical document and medical report satisfies DOJ criteria.

Partner Attorney

Ms. Laura Taylor Turner

A recognized RECA advocate since 2002. Leading the Law Offices of Laura J. Taylor, P.L.L.C., Ms. Turner brings more than two decades of dedicated legal experience representing radiation victims before the Department of Justice.

Our Origins

The Founders' Story

Downwinders Advocates was founded out of personal family loss—and an unwavering determination that families harmed by federal nuclear testing must be recognized and compensated.

For co-founders Jaxon Cummings and Jonny Schmidt, this work isn't abstract history. Jaxon's grandfather and both grandmothers lived directly in the path of the Nevada nuclear tests, and his father passed away from cancer in 2023. Jonny discovered the RECA program while searching for resources to help his mother following a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Experiencing first-hand how daunting it is to track down decades-old records from county archives, school districts, and hospitals, they founded Downwinders Advocates to give families dedicated support from first review through federal approval.

Strategic Partnership

Our Partnership With Laura Taylor Turner

To provide our families with the highest standard of federal claim preparation, Downwinders Advocates works in direct strategic partnership with Ms. Laura Taylor Turner.

Law Offices of Laura J. Taylor, P.L.L.C.

Based in Prescott, Arizona, the Law Offices of Laura J. Taylor have represented claimants in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program for over twenty years. This collaboration combines Downwinders Advocates' deep research and on-the-ground records-retrieval infrastructure with seasoned legal insight in federal RECA regulations.

Partner office:
325 West Gurley Street, Suite 201, Prescott, AZ 86301

Direct Advocate Line:
(801) 210-6517
info@downwindersadvocates.com

Ethical Foundation

Our Standards & Commitments

We hold ourselves to strict ethical standards. These commitments guide every client interaction:

You pay NOTHING unless your claim is approved and paid.
Our contingency fee is strictly dependent upon the Department of Justice approving and paying your claim. If your claim is not paid, you owe no contingency fee.
We will never solicit a terminally ill person without consent from the family.
We work directly through the caring family member who contacted us, or with their clinician. We never intrude on a patient in critical care.
We will give you a fast no.
A quick, honest evaluation is worth far more to your family than months of false hope. If statutory criteria are not met, we tell you immediately.
Independent and dedicated advocacy.
When a claim requires formal legal proceedings or representation, we coordinate directly with licensed counsel like our partner attorney.
Your records are yours.
We tell you what we collect and why. Request deletion or return of your file at any time. We never sell or share your private information.
Your story is yours.
If we film an interview or record an oral history, your permission is completely revocable at any time and we will take it down within 24 hours upon request.
You will have a dedicated representative you can contact anytime for help with your case.
You will always know who you are speaking with—a dedicated specialist with a direct phone number and name, not a faceless support desk.

Common Questions

Questions & Answers

Clear, honest answers to the questions families ask most often.

How much is the compensation?

Compensation amounts are set by federal statute: $100,000 for Downwinders, On-Site Participants, and Uranium Workers; and $50,000 (or medical expense reimbursement) for Manhattan Project waste claimants. Federal compensation is tax-free.

My parent has already passed away. Can our family still file?

Yes. Surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and parents can file on behalf of a deceased relative who met the exposure and illness criteria. This is one of the most common ways claims are submitted.

Which years of residency qualify for Downwinders?

For downwinders, at least one year of physical presence between January 21, 1951 and November 6, 1962, OR the entire month of July 1962 (June 30 to July 31, 1962). New Mexico claimants qualify starting from September 24, 1944. Uranium workers qualify for employment between 1942 and 1971.

What is the statutory deadline?

Claims must be filed with the Department of Justice on or before December 31, 2027. Because historical document retrieval often takes several months, starting early is essential.

What if our claim was previously denied?

Many denials occur simply because of documentation gaps—such as an incomplete pathology report or missing residency record—rather than true ineligibility. We review denied claims and resubmit them with complete supporting evidence.

How long does federal processing take?

Department of Justice processing generally takes six to twelve months from the date of a complete filing. An expedited path exists for documented terminal diagnoses.

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