Military Veteran Attorney Blog

On October 13, 2009, VA Secretary Shinseki decided to establish service connection for Vietnam veterans with three conditions; Parkinson's, B cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease. These join the already established conditions

In the case of a surviving spouse, either the veteran's death certificate should list one of these presumptive diseases as cause of death OR the cause of death must be linked to one of these diseases.

The decision to add these three new conditions was based on scientific evidence linking these conditions to exposure to Agent Orange, an herbicide sprayed in Vietnam. As in all other conditions, the VA typically requires proof of "boot on the ground" in most cases or proof of direct exposure to Agent Orange.

Please note that on November 2nd, the National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission released a bulletin stating that the VA instructed its regional offices to stay the adjudication of all claims seeking presumptive service connection related to the three new conditions pending the introduction of final regulations into the Federal Registry. However, veterans (and surviving spouses) who would qualify for these benefits are urged to go ahead and submit a claim to help lock in a retro-active payment date.

Although many of you are, or can become, eligible for Non-Service Connected Pension Benefits (most commonly, Pension plus Aid & Attendance), there are many who would be better off applying for Service Connected Compensation. However, in order to ascertain which benefit would be best for you, one must fully understand SC compensation benefits.

Unlike NSC pension claims, there is no asset or income limitation for SC compensation (with the exception of a parent's claim). For this reason, it may be possible to still obtain benefits for those clients with excessive assets who would not qualify for pension.

For veterans who are already receiving SC compensation, one should look at the rating of the disability and the amount that the veteran is receiving.

The general rule of thumb is: If the veteran is rated 85% or more and is receiving close to or more than pension would pay, the veteran should at least consider filing for an increase in SC compensation over pension.

Even in cases where the veteran is rated 100%, it may be possible to get additional VA money in the form of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC).

Veteran compensation claims generally take longer to process than pension claims; therefore, when in doubt, it may be best to apply for pension for those eligible veterans. Once the pension is awarded, the veteran can always submit a second claim for compensation and if approved, the VA will award whichever claim pays the most.