The potential side effects of Agent Orange exposure have been widely studied. However, lawmakers believe the VA may be incorrectly keeping some illnesses off the presumptive conditions list for Agent Orange exposure. An amendment proposed by Rep. Josh Harder, D-California, and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, House Amendment 264, would add…
Effective dates are important in determining the amount of backpay a Veteran will receive if their claim is granted. If a claim for service connection is denied and the Veteran does not appeal the denial, the claim is over and their effective date will be lost. However, the Veteran can…
Agent Orange was a chemical defoliant used most famously in the Vietnam War, but also found use in Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A long-overdue act of Congress, the Agent Orange Act of 1991, created a presumption of service connection for certain conditions if the veteran served in…
Diseases related to Agent Orange allow a Veteran to receive presumptive service connection for their condition. This means that it is presumed that your disability is related to your time in service. Therefore, any claim with a presumptive service connection will be automatically granted to the Veteran. However, not all…
On January 29, 2019, in Procopio v. Wilkie, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided that, for the purpose of agent orange claims, service in the Republic of Vietnam includes service in its territorial waters. This means that numerous Navy veterans previously denied presumptive service connection…
Blue Water Navy Veterans rejoice. The Procopio v. Wilkie case was heard at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by a full panel of judges (en banc) and that means it has precedential effect (it can be used as law and binding on future issues). The…
An important court ruling was recently announced that could have a significant impact on the disability eligibility of “Blue Water” Navy Veterans. Blue Water Veterans are Navy Veterans who served in the territorial waters around the Republic of Vietnam, but not necessarily in inland bodies of water (like the riverine…
by Cameron Kroeger, Attorney at Law and US Air Force Veteran Vietnam The Agent Orange Act states if a service member set foot in the Republic of Vietnam during the war, there is the possibility that they were exposed to herbicide agents. This means the Veteran may be presumptively service…
by Joe R. Pilgrim, Attorney at Law and US Navy Veteran For many years, Blue Water Veterans have been rejected from receiving VA benefits for their exposure to Agent Orange (AO). Unlike “boots on the ground” Veterans that served on the ground in Vietnam and Brown Water Navy Veterans that…
by Jerusha Hancock, Veteran’s Attorney Last month, the H.R. 299 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives and is now waiting for a vote by the Senate. Currently, only Veterans who can show that they were “boots on ground” in Vietnam or served…
