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RDT
I send my IRIS responds that denied my claim and received the following; The National Veterans Legal Services Program is looking out for Veterans.
We are writing you to follow up about the claim for benefits you previously filed with the VA. Based on what you told us, we now believe the VA may have made a mistake in your case. In this letter, we first explain the Nehmer lawsuit and why we believe VA may have made a mistake in your case. We then explain the steps you can now take to allow us to help ensure that you receive all of the benefits to which you are entitled under the Nehmer lawsuit.
The Nehmer class action lawsuit
In the class action lawsuit known as Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the court ordered the VA to identify and re-decide all disability or death benefit claims that were filed by a Vietnam veteran or a survivor of a Vietnam veteran for one of the three diseases that VA recently recognized as related to Agent Orange. These three diseases are: ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and B cell leukemias. This requirement applies only if VA received the claim (or the claim was pending at some point) between September 25, 1985 and August 30, 2010. If the VA's new decision grants the claim, the veteran or survivor may be entitled to a large amount of retroactive benefits.
We, the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), brought the Nehmer lawsuit. The court in Nehmer has certified us as the legal representatives of all Vietnam veterans (and their survivors) who suffer or died from a disease that is connected to exposure to Agent Orange. We do not charge a fee to any of these veterans and survivors, and we will not charge you any money for helping you obtain the benefits to which you are entitled.
VA recently created a list of all Vietnam veterans and survivors whose cases VA believes it must re-decide under the court order in Nehmer. Because we represent the Vietnam veterans and survivors in Nehmer, the VA gave us a copy of this list.
You have told us that you filed a VA claim for benefits based on Heart Disease secondary to agent orange between September 25, 1985 and August 30, 2010. Therefore, your name should be on the VA's list of people whose claims it will now re-decide. But when we looked at the list, your name was not on it.
How We Can Help Make Sure that VA Gives You the Benefits You Deserve
We would like to investigate why your name was left off the VA's list of cases it must re-decide. In order to prove that your case should be on this list, we need to review all the documents in your VA claims file. (If we are able to prove this and the VA re-decides your case, these documents will also allow us to advise you whether the VA gave you the retroactive benefits you deserve under Nehmer).
The VA will not give us a copy of your VA records unless you authorize VA in writing to send us a copy. We have therefore enclosed an authorization form for you to sign and return to us. You should also send us copies of any documents that you have about your VA claim for Heart Disease secondary to agent orange. You may use the most convenient method to send the form and documents to us. The options are as follows: you may scan the documents and send them to us
After we submit your signed form, it may take several months for VA to send us a copy of your records. Once we get the records, we will let you know whether it will prove to the VA that it should re-decide your case under Nehmer.
If you have any questions about this message, please feel free to contact me at this email address or our toll-free telephone number (1-855-333-0677). Additionally, please let us know when you receive any communications from the VA about your claim for Heart Disease secondary to agent orange.
Sincerely,
Allison Monyei
Staff Attorney*
National Veterans Legal Services Program
agentorange@nvlsp.org
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