VA Re-examining Agent Orange Claims

In an earlier post, we told you about new federal rules that affect veterans' disability claims for Agent Orange-related diseases.

The VA is now in the process of reviewing 140,000 past claims for Agent Orange-related disabilities to determine if the new rules would cause the VA to change its original decision.

According to the National Veterans Legal Services Program:

Vietnam veterans or survivors of Vietnam veterans who filed their first claim for VA benefits related to any of the three diseases prior to August 31, 2010 are subject to special favorable rules regarding the effective date for their benefits. The special rules apply to claims that were pending, filed, or denied any time between September 25, 1985 and August 31, 2010.

The VA is required to pay you, if your claim is successful, benefits retroactive to the date the VA first received your claim. Many Vietnam veterans and survivors of Vietnam veterans will be entitled to tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, of retroactive VA benefits.

We strongly suggest that Vietnam veterans NOT wait for the VA to contact them about past claims. Instead, we urge affected Vietnam veterans to contact The O'Connor Law Firm TODAY so that we can help ensure that the VA recognizes your past claim as one it needs to review, and that the VA pays you for all retroactive benefits that you have earned.

Contact The O'Connor Law Firm, LLC using its convenient contact form at http://www.oconnorlawfirm.us/contact.html.

Changes for Gulf War Claims and for Vietnam Agent Orange Claims

In the last few months, the federal government issued new rules that affect service-connected disability claims for Gulf War Syndrome-related ailments and for Agent Orange-related ailments.

The government has expanded the types of medical conditions for which veterans in these two claim categories can receive presumptive service connection (which may make some claims much easier for those affected veterans).

If you are a Gulf War-era veteran who served in the southwest Asia theater, or if you are a Vietnam-era veteran who served in or traveled through Vietnam, you should consult with a VA-accredited attorney to see if these recent changes might affect your rights.

Please visit our website at www.oconnorlawfirm.us/veterans.html.

Important Reminder About Initiating Arbitrations

RMA published Final Agency Determination FAD-126, which contains an important reminder about how to start the arbitration process if you have a dispute under your crop insurance policy (you can read that FAD in its entirety by clicking here).

The policy says a couple things. First, it says that you have to initiate arbitration within one year of the insurance company's determination (see Basic Provisions, Section 20(b)(1)). However, the policy also says that all arbitrations will use the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), even if the parties use some other arbitration service (see Basic Provisions, Section 20(a)).

What these two policy provisions mean (and what FAD-126 reminds us) is that you must start the arbitration process using AAA's rules for doing so. AAA's rules say that in order to start an arbitration, the Claimant (the policyholder) must file an Arbitration Demand with AAA or whichever arbitration service the parties use.

Reading between the lines of FAD-126, it appears that a policyholder sent the insurance company a letter saying, "I want to arbitrate my dispute," but the policyholder then left it at that, perhaps thinking that was all he needed to do. Remember, reading the policy provisions alone will not alert you to the fact that you have to file an Arbitration Demand - you have to read AAA's rules to know that.

FAD-126, which is binding on all crop insurance participants, reminds us that just sending the company a letter is not enough. If you do not file an Arbitration Demand by the one-year deadline, you could lose your right to dispute the insurance company's determination.

The crop insurance dispute resolution rules can be complicated. Don't risk losing your rights - call The O'Connor Law Firm with any questions.