VA TO ADD PARKINSON’S, ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE, AND B CELL LEUKEMIAS TO LIST OF AGENT ORANGE-RELATED DISEASES

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Relying on a recent report from an independent organization (the Institute of Medicine), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced on October 13, 2009, that the VA will add three new diseases to its list of 12 illnesses associated with exposure to Agent Orange. The three newly recognized diseases are:

• Ischemic heart disease;
• Parkinson’s disease; and
• B cell leukemias (such as hairy cell leukemia).

This announcement means that veterans who suffer from one of these diseases will become entitled to service-connected disability compensation from the VA as long as they stepped foot on land in Vietnam during active duty at any time between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. Other veterans who suffer from one of these diseases will become entitled to these benefits if they can show that they were exposed to Agent Orange during active duty.

To qualify, it will not matter when the disease first appeared. Thus, a Vietnam veteran who is first diagnosed with ischemic heart disease 50 years after discharge from service will become entitled to VA disability compensation benefits.

The announcement also opens the door to death benefits. Qualifying surviving family members of Vietnam veterans who have died, or who die in the future, from one of the three diseases will become entitled to service-connected death benefits known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).

On March 25, 2010, the VA published its proposed rule about adding the new diseases to the Agent Orange presumptive list in the Federal Register. The proposed rule states, among other things, that ischemic heart disease includes, but is not limited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable and Prinzmetal’s angina.

NVLSP’s Advice on What to Do Now

The VA will not begin to pay benefits for any of these diseases until it publishes its final rule amending its Agent Orange regulations. This process may take several more months. But if you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers from one of these diseases, or a qualifying surviving family member of a Vietnam veteran who died from one of these diseases, we advise you to take the action described below.

If you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers (or a survivor of a veteran who died) from one of the three diseases and you never previously filed a VA disability or death compensation claim for the disease: We advise you to immediately file with the VA a claim for service-connected disability compensation (or DIC) for the disease. As a result of the court order NVLSP obtained in its Agent Orange class action, the VA will be required to pay you, if your claim is successful, benefits retroactive to the date the VA first receives your claim. In general, this means that for every month you delay in filing your claim, you will not be entitled to VA compensation for that month.

If you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers (or a survivor of a veteran who died) from one of the three diseases and you did previously file a VA disability or death compensation claim for the disease: We advise you to take two steps:

(1) Immediately file with the VA another claim for service-connected disability compensation (or DIC) for the disease. This will help protect you from the possibility that the VA will interpret your previous claim as a pension claim instead of a compensation claim, or as being for a disease other than one of the three new diseases;

(2) Send email us at agentorange@nvlsp.org and provide the the following information:

• your full name;
• your current address;
• your current phone number;
• if you are a surviving family member, the full name of the deceased veteran;
• your VA claims file number;
• the approximate year in which you first filed a disability or DIC claim for Ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, or a B cell leukemia;
• identify which of the three diseases was the subject of the claim.
Why NVLSP Requests An Email If You Previously Filed A Disability Compensation or DIC Claim For One Of The Three Diseases:

NVLSP requests this email to help us protect your right to the proper amount of retroactive benefits if the VA grants your claim. As a result of the court order NVLSP obtained in its Agent Orange class action, the VA will be required in the future to go through its records and identify all Vietnam veterans and survivors of Vietnam veterans who filed a compensation claim in the past for one of the three diseases. Then, the VA will redecide each of these prior claims under its new rules. If the claim is granted, the VA will generally be required to pay you benefits retroactive to the date the VA received your first disability compensation or DIC claim for the disease.

NVLSP wants to make sure that the VA identifies your case as one it needs to review under the court order NVLSP obtained in its Agent Orange class action. NVLSP will compare the list that we ultimately get from the VA with the emails we receive to ensure that the VA reviews the case of every Vietnam veteran or survivor it is required by law to review.

Additional Information on the VA’s Readjudication of Claims

The VA recently issued a training guide which details its procedures for readjudicating previously denied claims for the newly recognized diseases, and adjudicating new claims received prior to the publication date of the final rule amending the Agent Orange regulations. It provides valuable information for veterans and advocates regarding such claims. You can view the Nehmer Training Guide here.