Blue Water Vietnam Veterans: Presumptive Agent Orange Exposure
Yesterday, January 29, 2019, the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Procopio v. Wilkie, holding that Blue Water Vietnam veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam between January 09, 1962 and May 07, 1975 are entitled to the presumption of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange.
This Decision is Huge for Blue Water Vietnam Veterans
Prior to this decision, Blue Water Vietnam veterans were excluded from the list of veterans presumptively exposed to Agent Orange. Qualifying for presumptive exposure to Agent Orange is a big deal because it requires the VA to concede that a veteran was exposed, easing the burden to establish entitlement to VA disability benefits for a disease known to be associated with exposure to Agent Orange. Without this presumption, Blue Water Vietnam veterans were required to prove actual exposure; that task was often insurmountable for many Blue Water Vietnam veterans. Now, many Blue Water Vietnam veterans who have been unsuccessfully fighting for VA disability compensation may be able to overcome that hurdle.
Who Qualifies as a Blue Water Vietnam Veteran?
Qualifying Blue Water Vietnam veterans are those who served aboard a ship in waters within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam’s shore between January 09, 1962 and May 07, 1975, and without ever setting foot on land, docking, or operating on the inland waterways of Vietnam.
What Else Does a Blue Water Vietnam Veteran Need to Establish for VA Disability Compensation?
A Blue Water Vietnam veteran presumptively exposed to Agent Orange must also show that he currently has a disease recognized by the VA as being associated with Agent Orange exposure disabling to a degree of 10 percent or more. There is an additional requirement that a few non-cancer diseases (peripheral neuropathy, chloracne, and porphyria cutanea tarda) manifest within one year from the last day of exposure to Agent Orange. Other listed diseases have no time requirement, meaning that veterans qualify for VA disability compensation no matter when the disease first manifested.
A list of diseases that the VA recognizes as connected to Agent Orange exposure appears in 38 C.F.R. Section 3.309(e).
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