Good News for Vietnam Vets: VA’s Recent Expansion of the Agent Orange Presumption

Three new conditions were recently added to the list of presumptive conditions that makes it easier to service-connect disabilities related to Agent Orange exposure. Congress recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which added the following conditions to a list of conditions presumed to be caused by Agent Orange exposure: bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinson’s Disease-like symptoms.

The Agent Orange Act of 1991 previously established a presumption of service connection, meaning that VA must assume that veterans who served during certain time periods in predetermined locations were exposed to Agent Orange.

A presumption of exposure replaces the element of service connection that requires veterans to provide proof of an in-service event, injury, or illness that led to their current disability.  Instead, VA considers Agent Orange exposure to be the in-service event.

With the passage of the NDAA adding bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson ’s Disease, VA also presumes service connection for the following Agent Orange-related conditions:

• AL Amyloidosis
• Chronic B-Cell Leukemia
• Chloracne (if it presents within one year of exposure to a degree of 10 percent disabling)
• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
• Hodgkin’s Disease
• Ischemic Heart Disease (including Coronary Artery Disease, stable and unstable angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death)
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathy, Early Onset (if it presents within one year of exposure to a degree of 10 percent disabling)
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (if it presents within one year of exposure to a degree of 10 percent disabling)
• Prostate Cancer
• Respiratory Cancers, including Lung Cancer
• Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, and mesothelioma)

Do you need VA disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure? Contact the Veterans Disability team at Rob Levine & Associates today for a free case evaluation. We will work hard to get the VA benefits you deserve.