Gwv Toxic Chem Sc Death Award (Nvlsp)

[Berta]

This claim was denied 8 times! To include multiple CAVC appeals:

“A Persian Gulf War veteran passed away from brain cancer in 1998 at the age of 40. After his death, the veteran's widow pursued a claim for service connected benefits. She claimed that her husband's brain cancer resulted from being exposed to toxic chemicals during his Gulf War service. The local VA regional office erroneously denied her claim eight times over a period of fifteen years. These denials were erroneous because the VA did not obtain an adequate medical opinion as to whether the toxic chemicals helped cause the veteran's death. The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) affirmed the erroneous denials on two occasions. After each BVA denial, NVLSP helped the surviving spouse by representing her before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Finally, in 2012 through NVLSP's persistence and refusal to accept the VA's failure to comply with its statutory duties to the widow, the Board of Veterans' Appeals obtained an adequate medical opinion. Unsurprisingly, the medical opinion concluded that it was likely as not that the cancer was caused by the veteran's in-service exposure to toxic chemicals. In May 2013, after a frustrating and time-consuming claims process, the VA awarded the widow monthly compensation benefits for the veteran's death retroactive to 1998. With the assistance of NVLSP attorneys who represented her before the CAVC in multiple appeals, the veteran's widow received close to $200,000 in benefits that she should have received all along, but unlawfully went without for the past fifteen years.”

Source:National Veterans Legal Services Program Newsletter