VA just announced today that eight medical conditions that are linked to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1953 to 1987, will become presumptive disabilities allowing for service connection. Currently, Camp Lejeune veterans who had exposure to the contaminated water during that time period and have those eight conditions are eligible for free VA health care or reimbursement for medical costs. With these new regulations, those veterans can also become presumptively service connected for those disabilities. The disabilities include kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, scleroderma, Parkinson’s disease, and aplastic anemia or other myelodysplastic syndromes. This means that the widows/widowers/dependents of these veterans who died from these diseases are also eligible for DIC benefits.
Veterans who have previously been denied for these claims may seek to have their previous claims reevaluated. For those veterans who currently have claims pending for these conditions, those claims will be put on hold with VA until the final regulations are released. No timeline was given by VA for this task to be completed.
The post Camp Lejeune Veterans first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>VA just announced today that eight medical conditions that are linked to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1953 to 1987, will become presumptive disabilities allowing for service connection. Currently, Camp Lejeune veterans who had exposure to the contaminated water during that time period and have those eight conditions are eligible for free VA health care or reimbursement for medical costs. With these new regulations, those veterans can also become presumptively service connected for those disabilities. The disabilities include kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, scleroderma, Parkinson’s disease, and aplastic anemia or other myelodysplastic syndromes. This means that the widows/widowers/dependents of these veterans who died from these diseases are also eligible for DIC benefits.
Veterans who have previously been denied for these claims may seek to have their previous claims reevaluated. For those veterans who currently have claims pending for these conditions, those claims will be put on hold with VA until the final regulations are released. No timeline was given by VA for this task to be completed.
The post Camp Lejeune Veterans first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>From the 1950s to 1987, some 750,000 people were exposed to polluted drinking water, which contained harmful chemicals from spills, a dump site on the base, and leaking underground storage tanks on base and an off-base dry cleaner.
At the community forum, representatives from the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) were on hand to discuss the outcomes of four studies that were conducted to examine the impact of exposure to the contaminated drinking water.
A VA official outlined for the audience what conditions need to be met to qualify for the registry:
Learn more and find information on how to apply for benefits at the VA’s website:
http://benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-postservice-exposures-camp_lejeune_water.asp
ATSDR and VA representatives also fielded questions from attendees, many of whom shared tragic stories of infant deaths, cancers, and other diseases.
Many people, like Neil Wilson, one of the forum attendees, lived at Camp Lejeune as children. Wilson was in attendance to get information for his family, who because of exposure to the contaminated drinking water have a range of health problems. His mother gave birth to seven of his nine siblings while stationed at the base. He learned of the exposure’s connection to his family after his brother was diagnosed with a heart problem.
“I have family members dying before me. They want answers,” Wilson said. “I’ve been following this for a number of years and I came today to get them answers, but I’m not too hopeful. I have to be a spokesperson for my family.”
The ATSDR and VA representatives hoped to share new information from recent studies on Camp Lejeune and tell people how to apply. You can also read our blog from last October when the VA announced Camp Lejeune victims would receive financial aid:
http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/2014/10/camp-lejeune-toxic-water-victims-to-receive-financial-relief-va-announces/
Read more on the forum here:
http://www.jdnews.com/news/military/veterans-families-attend-meeting-on-water-contamination-1.477296?page=0
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Veterans & Families from Camp Lejeune Looking for Answers at Community Forum first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The relief is long-overdue, as victims were promised coverage for their health care costs two years ago when Congress passed the landmark Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act. Not to mention, the toxic water problem stems all the way back to the mid-1950s.
The 2012 law provided health care for Marines and family members who had lived on the base from 1957 to 1987 and who suffered from any of 15 illnesses named in the law. These included cancer related to the lungs, bladder, breasts, kidneys and esophagus, as well leukemia and problems involving female infertility.
Some 750,000 people were exposed to polluted drinking water, which contained harmful chemicals from spills, a dump site on the base, leaking underground storage tanks on base and an off-base dry cleaner.
With the 2012 law, the VA immediately offered full care for veterans who had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, but it also established a waiting period for their dependents who suffered from covered illnesses to be reimbursed.
The most recent announcement from the VA means they will begin reimbursing family members later this year for health care costs incurred since March 26, 2013 – the date which Congress appropriated the funding.
The VA also planned to release a document about health care services to veterans who were on active duty at the base for at least 30 days in the three-decade period.
The news site McClatchy spoke with two individuals who were affected by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. Retired Marine Jerry Ensminger’s 9 year old daughter, Janey, died of leukemia in 1985, and Mike Partain, who was born at the base, has suffered from male breast cancer.
The two led the long fight to get the 2012 law passed, and both said they were dismayed by the delay in individuals receiving this financial relief.
“As far as I’m concerned, so many people have already died. They just keep dragging this thing out,” Ensminger said.
Partain said “institutional apathy and incompetence” were the reasons it took two years to write and approve the regulations for how the law would be administered.
For now, at least, the victims of Camp Lejeune can celebrate a step in the right direction.
Read more on this story on McClatchy DC:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/23/240809/financial-relief-finally-coming.html
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Victims to Receive Financial Relief, VA Announces first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>(1) VA health care benefits may be available. These are available for veterans and family members, who served on active duty or lived at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days, from January 1, 1957 to December 31, 1987. The law noted 15 conditions which may be related to exposure to the contaminated water supply: esophageal cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, renal toxicity, female infertility, miscarriage, sclerodoma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, hepatic steatosis, and neurobehavioral effects. If you or your family members lived at Camp Lejeune for 30 days during that period and currently suffers from any of these conditions, you may be eligible for health care benefits from VA. see (VA Facts Sheet) http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/index.asp
(2) For veterans who served on active duty at Camp Lejeune, disability/compensation benefits may be available if you meet the following criteria:
1. Discharged under other than dishonorable conditions;
2. Served at Camp Lejeune between August 1953 and December 1987; and
3. Provide medical evidence that you have a current condition and a medical opinion that the condition is related to your exposure to the contaminated water.
For more information from VA, see http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/claims-postservice-exposures-camp_leguene_water.asp
VA is not specific as to what “current conditions,” it will consider. However, it is likely that any of the 15 conditions mentioned for health care benefits are candidates. Unfortunately, presumption for the conditions is not applicable. VA takes the position that there is not sufficient evidence of a connection between any of these conditions and the exposure to the contaminants in the water supply to justify a presumption that they are related. Because of this, it will be important for you to obtain a medical opinion or nexus statement that states that your condition is related to the water contamination and fully explains the basis for the opinion. Even if you submit your own medical opinion, VA is very likely to obtain an opinion from a VA physician, known as a C & P exam, regarding the connection between your condition and the water contamination. Because of this, it is especially important that the opinion you submit be clear and well supported.
It has been a long wait for the aforesaid and those veterans who died or are severely injured while waiting for the justice delayed, with respect to their dependents, may want to file a claim and reopen those claims wrongfully denied. A multitude of arguments regarding claims under the purview of the Camp Lejeune water contamination are yet to be decided and the exact outcomes are unknown. At least there is acknowledgement and the system for acceptance of the Camp Lejeune tainted water claims via the VA which is a starting point.
For more information please call us:
813-657-9175
Veterans Disability Lawyer