Larry Dandridge

Agent Orange (toxic) exposure and disability compensation

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By Larry Dandridge


Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series of five.

I continue to receive phone calls, emails, and text messages from elderly veterans (especially Vietnam veterans) and their families, and others. Most of the time, they ask me about service-connected disability compensation for conditions caused by Hazardous Materials, and especially Agent Orange-caused conditions, illnesses, injuries, and disabilities.

Since I am a 100% service-connected, permanent, and totally disabled veteran with several Agent Orange-caused disabilities and serious health conditions, I feel honor-bound to write extensively about Agent Orange and VA disability compensation and health benefits.

Therefore, this article, along with my next four articles and the referenced VA webpages within, will cover service-connected disability compensation claims for Agent Orange-related health conditions, eligibility requirements, new PACT-Act related presumptive conditions and locations, how to get disability benefits through Agent Orange related claims, and answer common questions on this vital subject.

Presumptive diseases

Veterans should note that if they receive a VA disability rating, they may be eligible for VA healthcare and other benefits, potentially worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars over time. They should also understand that the VA assumes that certain diseases can be related to a veteran’s qualifying military service. The VA calls these “presumptive diseases.”

Question 1: What does it mean to have a presumptive condition for toxic exposure?

To get a VA disability rating, a veteran’s disability must be connected to their military service. For many health conditions, veterans need to prove that their service caused their condition. But for some conditions, the VA automatically assumes (or “presumes”) that the veteran’s service caused their condition. The VA considers a condition presumptive when it is established by law or regulation. If a veteran has a presumptive condition, they do not need to prove that their service caused the condition. The veteran only needs to meet the service requirements for the presumption.

Survivor’s benefits

According to the VA’s “Public Health – Agent Orange and Survivors’ Benefits” webpage https://bit.ly/4lg8MaM, the VA offers a wide range of benefits to surviving spouses, dependent children, and dependent parents of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died because of diseases related to Agent Orange exposure. Benefits include (1) compensation and (2) health care benefits.

1. Survivors also may be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) if the veteran died from other service-related injuries or diseases orwas totally disabled from a service-connected condition for a certain length of time at the time of death. Find out more about eligibility for DIC at the VA’s webpage “About VA DIC For Spouses, Dependents and Parents” at https://bit.ly/3I5BUCR and the VA’s webpage “The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits.”

2. Surviving spouses and children of veterans who died from a VA-rated, service-connected disability may be eligible for health care benefits under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). Survivors may be eligible for CHAMPVA if the veteran was rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability at the time of death. To be eligible for CHAMPVA, you cannot be eligible for TRICARE/CHAMPUS. Find out more about eligibility for CHAMPVA healthcare benefits and how to apply at the VA’s “CHAMPVA Benefits” webpage https://bit.ly/44xVvTJ, and the VA’s “Office of Survivors’ Assistant” webpage https://www.va.gov/survivors/. Veterans and their family members should also read The Island News article dated Dec. 13, 2023, titled “VA Survivor Benefits, Death Certificates, VSOs”, at https://bit.ly/4lzlOQm.

Agent Orange (The cause of many presumptive diseases)

The VA webpage “Public Health – Agent Orange” found at https://bit.ly/4nyNNBA states that Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide used by the U.S. military for control of vegetation. It was named for the orange band around the storage barrel. 

The military sprayed Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides during the Vietnam War. Veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange include veterans who served in locations including Vietnam, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, on Thai Air Force bases, and others who flew on or worked on C-123 Aircraft.

Learn more about Herbicides, C-123 Airplanes and Agent Orange, and the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Agent Orange at:

  • https://bit.ly/44HKH6D.
  • https://bit.ly/4lqOuuK.
  • https://bit.ly/4eufGWZ.

According to the “VA Agent Orange Exposure and Disability Compensation” webpage at https://bit.ly/4lriXJ0 and the VA webpage “Public Health – Veterans Diseases Associated With Agent Orange” at https://bit.ly/4lwMXDp, if you have a health condition caused by exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange during your service, you may be eligible for VA disability compensation. Compensation offers tax-free monthly payments of over $3,900 per month for a 100% disabled veteran.

Question 2: Am I eligible for VA disability compensation?

A veteran may qualify for VA disability compensation based on Agent Orange exposure if the veteran meets both of the following requirements:

  1. The veteran has a health condition that is caused by exposure to Agent Orange; and
  2. The veteran served in a location that exposed the veteran to Agent Orange.

VA complete disability compensation eligibility requirements

The VA determines eligibility based on the facts of each veteran’s claim. The VA also assumes (or “presumes”) that Agent Orange causes certain cancers and other illnesses. The VA calls these “Presumptive Conditions.” And the VA assumes that veterans who served in specific locations were exposed to Agent Orange. The VA refers to this as presumptive exposure.

The VA added two new Agent Orange presumptive conditions based on the PACT Act.

  • High Blood Pressure (High Blood Pressure).
  • Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).

The VA also added five new Agent Orange presumptive locations.

Requirements for Agent Orange presumptive diseases

The VA considers a condition presumptive when it is established by law or regulation. If a veteran has been diagnosed with one of these conditions, the veteran does not need to prove that it started during or got worse because of their military service. However, the veteran must demonstrate that they served during the specified time and place of eligibility and that they have the qualifying condition or disease (disability).

The VA assumes that certain diseases can be related to a veteran’s qualifying military service. The VA recognizes certain cancers and other health problems as presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service. Veterans and their survivors may be eligible for benefits for these diseases.

Continued next week.

Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, a combat and service-connected 100% disabled veteran, an ex-Enlisted Infantryman, an ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and a retired Lt. Colonel. His over 250 articles on veterans’ benefits, leadership, logistics, hospice, law enforcement, and aeronautics have been published in over 20 magazines and newspapers in the USA, Germany, and England. Larry is a former Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at his local VA Hospital, a Fisher House Charleston Goodwill Ambassador, and the past Vice President for Veteran Affairs for his local Association of the US Army (AUSA) and Military Officer Association Chapters. He is currently the VFW Post 7378 Service Officer, the author of the award-winning and popular (over 250 five-star reviews) Blades of Thunder (Book One), and a contributing freelance writer with the Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.

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