VA to adjust list of Agent Orange disorders

VA to adjust list of Agent Orange disorders
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 17, 2012

Veterans suffering peripheral neuropathy from exposure to the toxic herbicide Agent Orange could be eligible for compensation from the Veterans Affairs Department.

Early-onset peripheral neuropathy is initially characterized by numbness, tingling or pins-and-needles in the extremities, progressing to symptoms of pain in hands and feet, loss of balance and weakness.

VA on Aug. 10 proposed substituting early-onset peripheral neuropathy for acute and subacute neuropathy on its list of diseases presumed to be related to Agent Orange exposure.

The distinction removes the requirement that the symptoms resolved themselves in two years after they appeared.

Eligible veterans must have developed the condition within one year of exposure to a degree that it is at least 10 percent disabling.

Those who have lingering neuropathy as a result of service in Southwest Asia in the 1960s and 1970s could be affected.

Those who think they qualify can apply now for the benefits, but they may not be compensated until the ruling is final.

The proposed change was published in the Aug. 10 Federal Register. The comment period on the proposal is open until Oct. 9.
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