By: Kevin Lilley. Copyright 2023 Los Angeles Post-Examiner Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam while on active duty are eligible for disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as long as they were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. University of Denver, B.A. You served on active duty in a regular Air Force unit location where a C-123 aircraft with traces of Agent Orange was assigned, and had repeated contact with this aircraft due to your flight, ground, or medical duties. For example, say a veteran filed a claim for service connection for arthritis in 1995. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. As of December 1st, 2022 the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows: If your diagnosis is active cancer, VA assigns an automatic disability rating of 100 percent. The lawsuit was filed in 1986 (and certified as a class action in 1987) by a group of claimants to challenge a VA regulation from 1985 which gave presumptive status to chloracne claims only. Veterans interested in applying for disability compensation under one of the three new Agent Orange presumptives should click here or call (800) 827-1000. You may also use VAs Decision Ready Claim (DRC) program. Is There a Test for Agent Orange Exposure? This information is made available for educational purposes only and to provide general information and a general understanding of the law. However, over the years, she has become a strong advocate for VA rights and made it her mission to help veterans seek justice. The Settlement Fund closed in 1997. Because the plaintiff class was so large (an estimated 10 million people), the Fund was distributed to class members in the United States through two separate programs designed to provide maximum benefits to Vietnam Veterans and their families most in need of assistance: This plan for distributing the Settlement Fund was unprecedented: it employed mechanisms not previously adopted in class action lawsuits in order to maximize benefits to class members and to respond to the complex needs expressed by the class during a series of "Fairness Hearings" held in six different locations in the country. 877-222-8387, TDD (Hearing Impaired) Veterans who served in a unit that operated in the Korean Demilitarized Zone between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971; Vietnam-era Veterans whose service involved duty on or near the perimeters of certain military bases in Thailand between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975. The controversy centers around both the use of herbicides in Vietnam and the purported health problems associated with exposure to herbicides, primarily Agent Orange and its contaminant 2,3,7,8-TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), known . Getting Veterans (VA) Disability for Agent Orange Diseases, Learn About CCK's Partnership with DAV and Harvard Law School, - Learn About CCK's Partnership with DAV and Harvard Law School, Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act) of 2021. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. 988 (Press 1). You have a presumption of exposure if you meet at least one of these service requirements. For more information about service qualifications and other eligibility criteria, visit our Agent Orange C-123 web page. Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided. This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month. Phoenix, AZ: One Renaissance Tower, Two North Center Avenue, 18th & 19th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 If you have a health condition caused by exposure to Agent Orange during military service, read this page to find out if you may be eligible for . These disabilities are called "service-related" or "service-connected." For the purposes of disability compensation, VA presumes that Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides if they served: In Vietnam anytime between January 9, 1962 . Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange may have certain related cancers or other illnesses. As a result, many Vietnam veterans have incorrect effective dates. Proof of service in Vietnam. In addition, if the veteran dies before his initial claim is re-decided under Nehmer, the VA still must decide the claim and pay, in priority order, his spouse, children of any age, his parents, or his estate. Agent Orange VA Compensation. February 26, 2021. Service requirements for presumption of Agent Orange exposure. exposure to herbicides in a location other than the Vietnam or the Korean demilitarized zone. He . If the arthritis claim became final in 1999, and the veteran filed a new claim for ischemic heart disease in 2010 when the disease was added to the presumptive list, theeffective date for his claim goes backto 1998, even though the initial claim was not for ischemic heart disease. Columbus, OH: 100 E. Campus View Boulevard, Suite #250, Columbus, OH, 43235 Importantly, the exam isnota Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including disability compensation for diseases associated with exposure. See: Other Veterans whose duty outside of Vietnam involved the direct handling of Agent Orange. Serious Health Conditions. The effective date is usually the date that your VA disability benefits claim was received by VA. It includes locations in Vietnam and Korea during the 1960s and 1970s, as well as locations such as Guam, Thailand, Cambodia and American Samoa as late as 1980 for some areas. Surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died as the result of diseases related to Agent Orange exposure may be eligible for a monthly payment called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. If doctors diagnosed you with any of the medical conditions on the list above, we will gather the documentation from your doctor or medical professional that we need to submit to VA. You must provide your name, e-mail address, telephone and/or fax number, and VA file number/Social Security Number. we represent clients nationwide. Check the list of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships that operated in Vietnam to confirm whether your service aboard a ship allows VA to concede you were exposed to Agent Orange.. Those conditions are . You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. (Special Monthly Compensation). You served in or near the Korean DMZ for any length of time between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. We can interview medical doctors and experts, examine scientific studies, and perform other steps to build the strongest case that Agent Orange caused your condition. This includes: If eligible, you must prove that you were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during your military service to be eligible for service-connection for disease VA presumes are related to Agent Orange exposure. It then re-rates you based on the result. As a result, you should be entitled to VA disability benefits. Compensation for Agent Orange for those who qualify is available in the form of VA disability benefits. Contact the appropriate VA Regional 1. Currently, the list of health conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure includes the following: AL AmyloidosisBladder CancerChronic B-cell LeukemiasChloracneDiabetes Mellitus Type 2Hodgkin's diseaseHypertensionHypothyroidismIschemic Heart DiseaseMonoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined SignificanceMultiple MyelomaNon-Hodgkin's LymphomaParkinson's DiseaseParkinson's-like SymptomsPeripheral NeuropathyPorphyria Cutanea TardaProstate CancerRespiratory CancerSoft Tissue Sarcomas. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, Furthermore, as to case summaries, reports of past results, individual lawyer biographies, news posts and other information pertaining to past and present cases, these descriptions are meant only to provide information to the public about the activities and experience of our law firm. Veterans Crisis Line: An attorney can help you to determine how much money you would likely receive based on your symptoms and conditions. Before you decide whether or not to appeal the decision, you will want to be sure that the VA got both the VA disability rating and the effective date correct. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. Exception: Blue Water Veterans with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma may be granted service-connection without showing inland waterway service or that they set foot in Vietnam. Even if you did not serve in Vietnam or the Korean demilitarized zone during the specified time periods, you can still apply for disability compensation if you were exposed to an herbicide while in the military and believe it led to the onset of a disease. The Settlement Fund was distributed to class members in accordance with a distribution plan established by United States District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein, who presided over the litigation and the settlement. If the VA denied a claim many years ago, it may be able to be re-opened. However, if you are considering filing an initial claim, or even if you are interested in learning about the appeals process, we offer a free ebook to get you started on the right foot! Prior to July 1, 2004, interest earned by conserved Agent Orange settlement payments is not excluded from income. A 2023 Guide to VA Disability Rates & Pay Schedules, Individual Unemployability Rating Calculator, List of Blue Water Navy Ships Exposed to Agent Orange (Interactive Vietnam Map), Social Security Disability Benefits Guide. Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training - Exposure - Experience (TEE) Tournament, Outreach, Transition and Economic Development Home, Warrior Training Advancement Course (WARTAC), Staff Appraisal Reviewer (SAR) Information, How to Apply for Nonsupervised Automatic Authority, VALERI (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface). She realized that she can make her voice heard to the masses through legal journalism. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). Some of the conditions it has been linked to include: If you had known exposure to Agent Orange and have any of these medical issues, you may be presumed to have developed the condition as a direct result of your military service. SMC benefits are amounts paid on top of a 100 percent disability rating when certain conditions are present as well. Unfortunately, many military members were exposed prior to the ban and have developed various medical conditions including many types of cancer as a result. In Agent Oranges case, however, the V.A. Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides.It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Additionally, in July 2022, the PACT Act added hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (abnormal protein in the blood) to VAs presumptive Agent Orange list. Filing for benefits can be daunting. 100 percent disability rating: $3,146.42 per month. Recently, the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act) of 2021 expanded Agent Orange presumptions to include additional locations and time periods. She shares her analysis in reader-friendly articles. Education: Bladder Cancer is a now a recognized presumptive condition related to Agent Orange exposure. It also added additional locations to the list of places where soldiers were presumed to be exposed. These cookies may be set through our website by our advertising partners. The office of Sean Kendall, Attorney-at-Law, is committed to . In order to qualify, the children must be: Depending on the severity of your disability, you can receive as much as$3,621.95 per month as a single person. We help them to appeal and reopen claims in order to raise their VA disability ratings and increase their monthly benefit. If you are intending toappeal a denied claim, you can contact us for an evaluation and we can help you with this process. Since 1991, the VA has been required to do mass reviews of claims for the following: If you have been denied benefits due to Agent Orange toxic exposure, want to receive back pay compensation or are attempting toincrease your rating, the team at Hill & Ponton may be able to assist you. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange may also be eligible to receive anAgent Orange Registry Health Exam. Something went wrong. This guide provides insight into the amount of financial relief that may be available, as well as who may be eligible and how the PACT Act changed the rules to better provide for veterans and their loved ones. Unfortunately, Agent Orange causes a number of serious medical conditions. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Advisor site. Under the special Nehmer effective date rules, it does not matter, thanks to the Nehmer class members, when the VA adds a disease to the presumptive list. It was also tested, used, and stored at various other locations. If you have recently received a favorable decision from the VA on your Agent Orange claim, you may think that the long fight with the department of veterans affairs is over. If service connection is granted, the VA must apply the special effective date rules that were also part of the 1991 Nehmer court orders and stipulation and grant dependency and indemnity compensation. Canada's Secret War: Vietnam . 2023 Forbes Media LLC. To qualify for presumption of exposure, veterans must have had active military, naval, air, or space service in the following locations and time periods: If the veteran is eligible for presumptive service connection, the process for receiving VA disability compensation benefits and healthcare should be considerably easier, as the burden is not on the veteran to prove Agent Orange caused their condition. Philadelphia, PA: 1 International Plaza, Suite 550, Philadelphia, PA, 19113 These agencies, which ranged from disability and Veterans service organizations to community-based not-for-profits, provided counseling, advocacy, medical and case-management services. Do You Qualify for Long Term Disability Benefits? Florida Bar Agent Orange was an herbicide used by the U.S. military primarily during the Vietnam War. Those who were exposed should make sure to understand their right to benefits if they developed a serious medical condition. VA survivors' benefits. The same applies to veterans who served in or near the Korean demilitarized zone between 1968 and 1971.
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