Getting VA Disability Benefits for Exposure to Contaminated Water at Camp Lejune
The VA announced last Thursday that it is working on final regulations that will recognize a correlation between exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejune and eight medical conditions. The impending final regulations will grant presumptive service connection to veterans who served at the North Carolina Marine training base between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and who have developed one of the specified medical conditions. The “presumed” medical conditions include:
– Kidney cancer,
– Liver cancer,
– Non-Hodgkin lymphoma,
– Leukemia,
– Multiple myeloma,
– Scleroderma,
– Parkinson’s disease, and
– Aplastic anemia/myelodysplastic syndromes.
Until the regulations establishing presumptive service connection are finalized, the VA will continue to grant or deny benefits for conditions claimed as a result of exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejune on a case-by-case basis. If, however, a claim is for one of the proposed presumptive conditions, the denial of that claim will be stayed until the VA issues the final regulations.
Currently, veterans who served at Camp Lejune for 30 days or more during the period of August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, are only entitled to receive VA health care and out-of-pocket reimbursement for expenses related to 15 listed medical conditions. See our previous post regarding health care benefits and reimbursement here. Thursday’s announcement is a step in the right direction to help exposed veterans obtain disability compensation. Although the timeline for when the final regulations will take effect is unknown, lawmakers are hopeful that the process will be expedited.
The experienced veteran’s disability attorneys at Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. serve veterans throughout the Gulf Coast area, including, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Contact us today at 251-343-1111 for a free case evaluation.