Copyright 2023 Woods and Woods, LLC | PO Box 1287 Evansville, IN 47706. , by Daniel Raymond Stephenson who sued Dow in New Jersey courts after developing multiple Myeloma in 1998. said. One of the most concerning effects of Agent Orange exposure has been the occurrence of birth defects in the children of veterans who were exposed to the chemical. Agent Orange, the defoliant in which the United States soaked Southeast Asia during our decades of making war there, is what scientists call a "persistent agent," and persistent agents tend to persist. : Dow Chemical, Monsanto and Diamond Shamrock Corporation. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. The wide consensus the Group came to was that Dioxin, indeed, is a health hazard. These diseases include: Additionally, survivors of exposed Veterans and depends may also be eligible for benefits. Office Locations. The scientific component includes the documentation around What benefits can my child get and how do we get them? Phoenix, AZ: One Renaissance Tower, Two North Center Avenue, 18th & 19th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Sadly, there are not enough definite studies to prove that all the birth defects of children born to parents exposed to Agent Orange are directly caused by the chemical. It is assumed that the loss of his son motivated the public service from which many motherload we've been missing, Maxner said. Spouses and dependents of veterans who have died, Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network, VA-certified Disability benefits attorney Lori Underwood. OR CALL 1-888-477-2363. We're looking at two The chemical was primarily used during a military campaign known as Operation Ranch Hand. The use of "rainbow herbicides" led to a 1984 class action suit by Vietnam veterans and their families against chemical companies that produced these defoliants. In the 1980s, several U.S. Vietnam veterans sued the U.S. chemical companies that Thankfully, a veteran is never too old to apply for benefits, and even if the veteran has passed, his or her surviving family members could still be eligible for benefits as well. Its intent was to remove foliage and vegetation but its effects on human troops were unprecedented and . Sometimes it goes overlooked, and Veterans that deserve benefits do not get them. 18 (2) Between 1968 and 1971, a total of 6,500 19 spraying missions were carried out in an area of 20 about 1,500,000 hectares, which represented about 21 10 percent of South Vietnam. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In November 2020, a district court ordered the VA to review any previously denied compensation claims related to Agent Orange exposure for so-called "Blue Water veterans," who served aboard ships in the territorial waters of Vietnam. If you are a Veteran who served in Vietnam, suffered from any of these diseases listed above, and were exposed to Agent Orange, you may be entitled to benefits and compensation. 17 Agent Orange. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018). Some of the major health problems caused by Agent Orange include: Cancer studies have found that Agent Orange can cause cancer in some such as lymphoma, leukemia, and prostate cancer. This means that many people, both Veterans and civilians, were exposed to Agent Orange. Legal fight over Blue Water benefits spans decades An estimated 90,000 Blue Water veterans were ineligible for Agent Orange related benefits until January 2020, after the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law. Because disability benefits were only given to Veterans who had children with spina bifida, many Veterans were left out, even if their children had birth defects. The first Agent Orange-related lawsuit was filed by 28-year old Paul Reutershan, who believed that his chloracne and abdominal cancer was related to Agent Orange after watching the Kurtis documentary. Fifty years after the war, Agent Orange still affects hundreds of thousands of U.S. The VA has said that approximately 62,000 veterans or survivors may be eligible for the expanded benefit. greatest controversies Agent Orange. transparency., When we look at the world today, there has never been a time we've needed transparency Instead, under the presumptive nature of Agent Orange exposure, a Veteran has to have records that show that they served either in: If a Veteran did not serve in any of these circumstances but still suffered from exposure to harmful herbicides, they might still be able to receive benefits. we represent clients nationwide. His own son, By Fred Wilcox. Hill & Ponton P.A. It was only later that the primary chemical in Agent Orange, called dioxin, was found to be extremely toxic. The chemical was primarily used during a military campaign known as Operation Ranch Hand. NVLSP has gone to court four times since 1999 to force VA to comply with the Nehmer consent decree, including a motion filed in federal court in July 2020 on behalf of Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans and survivors whose Agent Orange claims were denied. Agent Orange was created to defoliate dense jungle terrain to help American and South An admiral in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, Zumwalt ordered the use of Agent This is an object lesson for today. way we can have that is through governmental and corporate transparency. For example, exposed male veterans had a higher rate of fathering children with spina bifida. histories. Spina bifida occulta The spinal cord and surrounding bones are not fully formed, and many suffering from this type of condition may not have symptoms. The Department of Veterans Affairs will reexamine compensation claims from veterans exposed to Agent Orange while serving in the waters off Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. In this circumstance, a Veteran must show either that they served: There are many mistakes that the VA makes every year. Though many studies have been done, research remains inconclusive, leading to much controversy. The landmark case, filed in 2014, has pitched Tran To Nga, a 79-year-old who says she was a victim of Agent Orange, against 14 firms, including U.S. multinational companies Dow Chemical and . The case, known as the Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation, grew as lawyers across the country added their clients to the suit. The treatments aim to destroy cancer cells and allow the body to produce healthy blood cells. When they returned from Vietnam, some service members noticed that their children were born with a disease, missing limbs, extra limbs, cleft lips, and more. Stephenson v. Dow Chemical Co. was transferred to Judge Weinstein in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York. only good that could come from the process. The childs biological mother or father served in the Republic of Vietnam or in Thailand for any length of time between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, The childs biological mother or father served in a unit in or near the DMZ for any length of time between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. Vietnam Veterans are eligible for VA benefits for diseases that are caused by Agent Orange. Female soldiers often served as nurses and other medical personnel in field hospitals, where they were likely exposed to Agent Orange. The Agent Orange Settlement Fund was created by the resolution of the Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation - a class action lawsuit brought by Vietnam Veterans and their families regarding injuries allegedly incurred as a result of the exposure of Vietnam Veterans to chemical herbicides used during the Vietnam war. If you need any additional information about your possible disability benefits, please visit the VAs site: https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-postservice-agent_orange.asp. of being one of the nation's premier research institutions. There was nothing about that war that was honest. Houston, TX: 2925 Richmond Ave, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77098 Agent Orange is a herbicide that the U.S. military widely used during the Vietnam War. The case, known as the Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation, grew as lawyers across the country added their clients to the suit. Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide the U.S. military used to clear leaves and vegetation for military operations mainly during the Vietnam War. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. continuing to the present. As a result of this dioxin contaminant, many veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange have developed serious health conditions. and Agent Orange an extremely rare accomplishment for someone with no medical training. On May 7, 1984, Judge Jack B. Weinstein, who presided over the case at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, worked out a. Cleft Lip/Palate can be corrected via surgery, speech therapy, and specialized dental care. Also covered by this presumption are veterans who were in or near the Korean demilitarized zone from April 1, 1968 to August 31, 1971. Have Questions About Appealing Your Claim or Understanding How the Claims Process Works. Our assumption is that these attorneys figured they would try to do some good, Maxner Philadelphia, PA: 1 International Plaza, Suite 550, Philadelphia, PA, 19113 A document showing the biological relationship between the child and the Veteran parent. cancers and thyroid disorders. The Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network, Inc. is a non-profit organization that draws attention to the devastating health effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their families. A 2023 Guide to VA Disability Rates & Pay Schedules, Individual Unemployability Rating Calculator, List of Blue Water Navy Ships Exposed to Agent Orange (Interactive Vietnam Map), Social Security Disability Benefits Guide, Webinar: Agent Orange and Thailand Veterans, Common Birth Defects Caused by Agent Orange. Vets who were suffering serious health consequences from exposure to the defoliant were being unconscionably stonewalled by the Veterans Administration under presidents of both parties. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. Dioxin exposure is now linked to a host of health issues. again. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Your child may be eligible for disability benefits if they meet these requirements. one condition related to Agent Orange exposure chloracne, a skin condition, How exposure to Agent Orange affects Vietnam veterans. As with any true archival work however, they do not know what they will find. Despite any anecdotal or academic evidence you may have read, the VA currently does not provide benefits for the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. Do Agent Orange victims qualify for VA disability? Columbus, OH: 100 E. Campus View Boulevard, Suite #250, Columbus, OH, 43235 Since Vietnam vets returned home and started having children, a worrying trend occurred. We know we were all exposed to Agent Orange, to varying degrees, and we feel that The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. access to benefits they need. The chemical in Agent Orange, Dioxin, can cause developmental abnormalities in a developing fetus. Janesville, WI 53547-4444, Bring your application to a VA regional office near you.Find a VA regional office near you, You can work with a trained professional called an accredited representative to get help filing a claim for disability compensation.Get help filing your claim. Print the form, fill it out, and send it to this address: Department of Veterans Affairs pool of educators who excel in teaching, research and service. Cleveland, OH: 600 Superior Ave. East, Fifth Third Building, Suite 1300, Cleveland, OH, 44114 AOVI brought on workmans compensation attorney Victor Yannacone who filed Reutershans complaint as a class action lawsuit against four additional chemical companiesHercules, Uniroyal, the T. H. Agriculture and Nutrition Company and the Thompson Chemical Company. Texas Tech is large enough to provide the best in facilities and academics but prides There are some diseases that the VA does not presume, which can lead them to deny claims. are elements of this war that have been covered up, we must discover the truth., tags: Academics, Military, Research, Stories, Vice President for Research, Vietnam, provost. who have been negatively affected, Maxner said. Please call for an appointment . One of the most controversial issues surrounding Agent Orange is its effects on offspring after paternal exposure. Senior officers were given this chemical and told it was safe to use. in the Vietnam War? Our firm was founded in 1986 in Orlando, Florida. to foster an environment that celebrates student accomplishment above all else. A comprehensive overview of the companys dirty deeds from Agent Orange / dioxin to Greenwashing. Updated: January 23, 2023. and enhance the long term study and preservation of all aspects of America's diplomatic we needed to hire additional archivists to process the information correctly.. Survivor benefits are also dependent upon the veterans eligibility. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. was one of those officers. Furthermore, The archives, In the 1990s, the government acknowledged that more conditionssome of which are debilitatingare related to its exposure. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Agent Orange has affected generations of people. Service records that prove the Veteran served in Vietnam or Thailand, or in or near the DMZ during the qualifying dates listed above, Medical records with the diagnosis of spina bifida or another covered birth defect. Reproductive disorders Infertility and spontaneous abortion are commonly caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Both of these must be true: The childs biological mother served in Vietnam any time from January 9, 1962, through May 7, 1975, and, The child was conceived after the mother first entered the Republic of Vietnam during the time period listed above. To learn more about how to succeed in the disability appeals process, call us today at 1 (888) 492-2941 for a free consultation. This is just one question the researchers hope to answer. by JeffP | Sep 6, 2011 | Books, Children of Veterans, Dioxin, Health, U.S., Veterans Illnesses. Mayor Hinges on Voter Rolls, Preventing a Repeat of WWII-Era Imprisonment, Fox News Told Viewers What They Wanted to Hear. Your child may be eligible fordisability benefits if they have a covered birth defect that caused a permanent physical or mental disability (a disability that doesnt go away) and they meet both of these requirements. Camp Lejeune Lawsuit. The effects of Agent Orange exposure can be life-long and severe, impacting not only the affected child but also their families. It wasnt until March 1989 that the first checks were mailed out to veterans as defined in the class by Judge Weinstein, which included veterans who served in Vietnam from the U.S., as well as Australia and New Zealand. . Acute Myeloid Leukemia, otherwise known as AML, affects the blood and bone marrow. For more information on VA benefits and Agent Orange, visit our website. Early diagnosis is important, if you think you were exposed to Agent Orange and are planning to have a child ask your doctor to check for all possible birth defects. have ideas of how they will organize their findings. VRY, France Almost six decades after the U.S. military began dropping a toxic herbicide known as Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, a French courtroom in a Parisian suburb has become the. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to stay updated on VA news, policy changes, and more. The Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network, Inc. Presumptive Conditions VA Disability Articles, They really care about you and your needs, Have a condition recognized by the VA to be an Agent Orange presumptive condition, Served in specific areas and times established by the VA. Washington, D.C.: 1776 I Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C 20006 The horrible effects of Agent Orange are no secret. Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. pool of educators who excel in teaching, research and service. The VA does not offer disability benefits for grandchildren of Agent Orange veterans. Motion 1: For the VA Secretary to use his executive authority to bypass the lengthy regulatory writing and approval processes and direct that the three new presumptive diseases (bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinson's-like symptoms) in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act be fast-tracked for implementation by the VBA. When you put that into play Originally, these veterans were denied benefits, while those who served on inland and coastal waters, along with those serving on land in Vietnam and some other nations, were eligible for benefits. We consistently provide experienced, compassionate and ethical representation to our clients. The spouses and dependent children of veterans who died because of an illness caused by Agent Orange or those who died in the line of duty are eligible for survivor benefits. This is because Agent Orange exposure is presumed by the VA if a Veteran shows that they are diagnosed with one of the diseases or disabilities that Agent Orange causes. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. U.S. Navy file photo. There have been a variety of settlements made to Agent Orange victims since the chemical warfare in Vietnam ceased over 40 years ago. They must first prove a service connection or, in other words, prove that their condition is related to their military service. The papers were given to a veteran's association in New Jersey, but in 2014 were sent You can also check out the list of covered birth defects, here. They also witnessed an unusually high incidence of their children born with hydrocephaly, anencephaly, spina bifida, neural tube defects, club foot, cleft palate, missing extremities, fused digits, heart defects, blindness and many other conditions. Quality students need top-notch faculty. What the chemical companies knew, and when they knew it.. This triggered DeVictor to conduct a series of interviews privately with other sick veterans, as she also researched into the correlation between veteran health problems and their alleged exposure to herbicides. Stephenson v. Dow Chemical Co. was transferred to Judge Weinstein in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York. To this day, many questions remain, with few answers, concerning one of the war's Get more information Review the current payment rates Learn more about spina bifida and Agent Orange I subsequently lost one of my best friends in sportswriting to a fast-moving cancer that was traced to his having worked with AO at an American airbase during the war). resources for researchers and veterans alike. No FBI Agent Should Just Trust Trump to Tell Truth, Republican Senators Form Wingnut Xylophone, How to Line Your Pockets While Reshaping the Court, SCOTUS Ponders Whether to Dub Loans Unforgiven, Effort to Recall N.O. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_4" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_5" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Were you stationed at Camp Lejeune before 1987? . Copyright 2023 Hill & Ponton, P.A.. All Rights Reserved. We may earn a commission from these links. for troops and veterans following his 29-year career in the U.S. Air Force. There are many future possibilities depending on what we find in these files, Mondt Fascinating Facts about Our Presidents with Military Service, The Mission of Space Force: Essential Facts about the 6th US Military Branch, #top .hr.hr-invisible.av-khlaws5s-6faf2fa81f43d0e30b008ce13b504d53{ The suit alleged . In many respects, the environmental awareness we have today, stems from This fund and lawsuit did not involve the VA or the government in any way. Maxner, who teaches military history at Texas Tech, explains what these papers could Agent Orange, the defoliant in which the United States soaked Southeast Asia during our decades of making war there, is what scientists call a "persistent agent," and persistent agents tend. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. Agent Orange is a herbicide used by the US government in the 1960s, 1970s, and during the Vietnam War. Its mission is to support and encourage research and education regarding all aspects | The Aspen Institute, Effects on Veterans Descendants Veterans and Agent Orange | NCBI Bookshelf, 15 Diseases Caused by Agent Orange Exposure | Benefits.com. His son developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and died. Pittsburgh, PA: 201 Penn Center Boulevard, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15235 Let's talk about your VA disability benefits. Spina bifida is the only birth defect related to Agent Orange exposure that the VA recognizes for male veterans. Non-functional In non-functional tumors, the glands do not produce excessive hormones making it harder to catch symptoms. In November 2020, a district court ordered the VA to review any previously denied compensation claims related to Agent Orange exposure for so-called "Blue Water veterans," who served aboard ships . The .gov means its official. Originally, the VA said that Blue Water veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and whose claims were denied due to their service not being in a qualifying location would have to file a new claim. From this public crisis came the creation of the VAs Agent Orange Policy Group, though headed by a former Monsanto researcher. DeVictor then took her files to Bill Kurtis, an investigative reporter at the CBS affiliate in Chicago, who went on to interview researchers and more veterans, and aired Agent Orange: Vietnams Deadly Fog, in March of 1978. Many children were born with birth defects. With extensive experience working with VA disability claims, Berry Law can help you with your disability appeals. The legal team at Woods and Woods is determined to assist veterans and their families to get the compensation they are owed. Judge Approves Settlement In Agent Orange Lawsuit Monsanto will pay up to $93 million to monitor health, clean homes of Nitro, W.Va., residents by Marc S. Reisch February 27, 2012 Veterans can apply in person at their local office or online: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/homepage. These included chemist Bruno Tesch, who invented the stuff, and who was executed in 1946. The Fund also distributed $74 million to social service programs that helped 239,000 veterans. 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