Service-connected Disability for PTSD

The Department of Veteran Affairs has published a new regulation making it easier for Veterans to receive a service-connected disability for PTSD. The veteran will no longer have to prove a verified stressor. Please call our office for more details.

Brown Waters

The Department of Veteran Affairs has released a list of Navy vessels that served in "Brown Waters". Veterans who served on "these" ships are eligible for disability based on presumption because of Agent Orange exposure. Please see your County Veteran Service Officer for more information.

Additional Health Conditions for Agent Orange Presumptive List

The Department of Veteran Affairs has added additional health conditions to the Agent Orange presumptive list. The VA added B cell leukemias; Parkinson’s disease: and ischemic heart disease to the list of service-connected sicknesses. This increases the number of presumptive conditions to 15. Please visit your county veteran service office if you served in Vietnam and have been diagnosed with any of these illnesses. Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness do not have to prove an association between their illness and their military service.

Camp Lejeune presumptive diseases

As part of VA's ongoing commitment to provide quality care to Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs has established a presumption of service connection for eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminates in the water supply at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, N.C. for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987, may be eligible for disability benefits. The presumption rule was published on January 13, 2017, and is effective either 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, or following conclusion of the 60-day Congressional Review, whichever is later.

The presumptive diseases are:

• Adult leukemia
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and
• Parkinson's disease