GOOD News for Blue Water Navy vets

[Berta]

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/03/26/va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits/

In part:

"Veterans Affairs leaders will not recommend appealing a federal court ruling to award disability benefits to thousands of Vietnam veterans who claim exposure to cancer-causing chemical defoliants during ship deployments off that country’s coastline, officials confirmed Tuesday.

During an appearance before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said he will not ask the Department of Justice to continue to fight the legal issue. Federal officials have until late April to appeal the decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in January."

Also the Secretary said he will make a decision on any new AO presumptives within 3 months.

Now is the time to write to him personally if you feel your HBP was caused by AO- or anyone of the other potential presumptives listed here in past posts.

If you have ischemic heart disease IHD from AO, and also have HBP , or any other disability in the NAM report ,( posted link to here in the past ),you could prepare a strong   good letter as to the nexus factor to your exposure using the published NAM ( formerly IOM) report.    

[Vync]

Excellent!

[Berta]

More news for Blue Waters- (there is still a BWN AO bill in congress in addition to the Procopio decision.)

NVLSP FILES LEGAL CHALLENGE TO VA RULE PREVENTING PAYMENT OF RETROACTIVE BENEFITS TO BLUE WATER NAVY VETERANS ENTITLED TO DISABILITY BENEFITS DUE TO PROCOPIO DECISION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 25, 2019

 

 

"WASHINGTON – On March 19, 2019, The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), together with Phillip Boyd Haisley, a “Blue Water Navy Veteran,” who served in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit challenging the legality of a rule recently issued by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie that significantly limits when past VA benefit denials can be overturned due to “clear and unmistakable error.”  According to the new VA rule, a final denial of VA benefits cannot be clearly and unmistakably erroneous even if a court later decides that VA’s basis for the prior denial clearly violates the law.  NVLSP and Mr. Haisley filed the lawsuit with the pro bono assistance of Paul Hastings LLP. 

“This VA rule is an unjust poison pill for Blue Water Navy veterans,” said NVLSP Executive Director Bart Stichman.  “They just celebrated the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Procopio v.Wilkie, entitling them to disability benefits for Agent Orange-related diseases.  The Court ruled in Procopio that a longstanding VA policy denying veterans who served in Vietnam’s territorial waters the statutory presumption of Agent Orange exposure clearly violated the Agent Orange Act of 1991.  Even though VA was clearly wrong all along, the agency’s new rule is a transparent attempt to immunize VA from paying retroactive benefits due to clearly erroneous past VA decision-making. This rule runs counter to Congress’ intent when it required VA to pay retroactive benefits for prior claims denial that are the product of clear and unmistakable error.”

Background    ( posted in part- full story here: https://www.nvlsp.org/news-and-events/press-releases/nvlsp-files-challenge-to-rule-preventing-payment-of-retroactive-benefits-to  )

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The VA cant get away with this one-  if they do they could use that tactic for all types of CUEs in prior decisions.BS to that!