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Archive for the ‘Vietnam veterans’ Category
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
According to an article on VVA-NC.com, crew members who worked on planes that were used to spray Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War, are concerned their proximity to the toxin’s residue on the planes is a health risk. Veterans who suffer from a service-related disability or illness, may be able to file for veterans disability claim and should seek help from legal counsel to pursue compensation.
The military used C-123 Provider aircraft to deliver/spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The spraying ended in 1971, but those C-123s were repurposed and used to transport cargo and perform medical evacuations until 1981.
Crew members aboard these planes have reported “strong odors” in the planes, but were likely ruled out to due to fact that TCDD, the main toxin in Agent Orange, is odorless.
The U.S. Air Force tested multiple C-123s to determine if TCDD existed in the planes. After reviewing the test results, and the subsequent reports, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) came to the same conclusion that even if C-123 crews were exposed to Agent Orange residue, the exposure was not capable of causing any negative long-term health concern.
This does not mean that your health condition does not exist and you should seek help. You still may be able to collect disability benefits, which is why you should have an attorney by your side.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Agent Orange, Veterans disability, Vietnam War
Posted in General, Veterans' Disability, Vietnam veterans | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
According to an article in Off The Base, many veterans find comfort in speaking to other veterans with disabilities or mental health conditions, which is why The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) created a campaign known as “Make the Connection”.
Veterans who support and help one another through the most difficult times in their lives can be a powerful experience. By the VA implementing the “Make the Connection” program on its own webpage, veterans can privately find help and a sense of therapeutic treatment.
The webpage is designed to help veterans of every generation and service. Vietnam veterans can find the exact type of help as can veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The help that can be found ranges from struggling with an identity as a newly disabled veteran to transitioning back into the civilian world following a deployment.
The information on the site is designed to help family members and loved ones as much as it is designed to help veterans, clinicians, and active-duty soldiers. Through different techniques, the site is designed to help veterans find help for themselves, and locate resources from which they can ask for the needed help.
Furthermore, the site also offers services ranging from testimonials of other soldiers and how they learned to cope with varying issues to self-assessment tools for substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Make The Connection, mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder, Veterans disability
Posted in General, Iraq-Afghanistan War, VA News, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources, Vietnam veterans | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
A bill was recently introduced to the Senate that would give more Blue Water veterans benefits for being exposed to Agent Orange during Vietnam, according to an article in The Leaf Chronicle. The new bill will provide a basis of eligibility for over 250,000 Naval veterans, many of whom are already classified as veterans with disabilities but have been unable to draw benefits.
A Blue Water veteran is a name used to describe those veterans who served on ships in the waters surrounding Vietnam but didn’t step into Vietnam and didn’t “traverse inland waterways.” In 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decided that only veterans who had served on Vietnam land could draw benefits from the VA’s presumptive illness list for Agent Orange exposure. This ultimately left out about 250,000 from being considered for VA benefits.
Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that Agent Orange infected on-board water sources, troops in airplanes transporting the toxic defoliant, and directly affected sailors on ships downwind from areas where Agent Orange was deployed.
The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2011 would ensure that Blue Water veterans are considered eligible for VA benefits due to Agent Orange exposure. The bill will allow coverage for those who served “within the territorial seas or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam.”
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Agent Orange, Agent Orange Equity Act of 2011 (S. 1629), Blue Water Veterans, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability, Vietnam veterans | No Comments »
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Among those who are drawing veterans disability or are eligible for the benefits due to being exposed to Agent Orange, are certain Naval and Coast Guard veterans. Some Naval veterans, however, are eligible to qualify for disability compensation under 14 different conditions listed on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumptive disease list related to Agent Orange exposure.
The VA is now extending that eligibility to more ships that operated in and around Vietnam’s coastline between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The list includes those ships that:
- operated in inland waterways;
- docked on shore; or
- sent crewmembers ashore.
According to VA Sec. Eric Shinseki, extending the list of ships eligible for such benefits makes it easier for veterans of the Navy and Coast Guard to get their earned benefits. The VA’s presumption is any veteran that was “in-country” during Vietnam may have been exposed to toxic herbicides, such as Agent Orange. Such veterans who then develop one of the diseases on the VA’s list do not have to show a link between their service and their illness to claim veterans benefits.
The VA has been not only adding more ships to their qualifying list, but has added more presumptive diseases as well in recent history.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Agent Orange, Presumptive Disease, Veterans disability, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Vietnam veterans | No Comments »
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