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Vietnam Veterans Paid Billions For Presumptive Conditions

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) added 3 diseases to its Agent Orange presumptive condition list last year. Since then, they've received tens of thousands of veterans disability claims related to the new diseases. To date, they've paid almost 90,000 claims, retroactively, to both Vietnam Veterans and their survivors totaling over $2.2 billion.

3 New Diseases Added to the Agent Orange Presumptive Condition List 

• Parkinson's disease;
• ischemic heart disease; and
• hairy cell leukemia, which includes other B-cell leukemias.

According to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Shinseki, expanding the presumptive disease list was a necessary step. It became an indispensible part of the VA's mission of providing health care benefits for veterans and their families who earned those benefits through their service to this country.

Given the current state of the VA's claim backlog, the VA has been encouraging veterans to apply as soon as possible. If a veteran is able to demonstrate he or she suffered one of the newly listed conditions after the date of the change, the VA may pay those benefits retroactively up to 12 months.

At the same time, the VA is constantly reviewing claims veterans have previously filed that are eligible for retroactive benefit payments. Survivors of veterans who died because from one of the new presumptive diseases are also eligible to file claims.

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.