WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled Tuesday that the
Department of Veterans Affairs cannot deny disability benefits to thousands of
Vietnam veterans who claim exposure to cancer-causing chemical defoliants
simply because those vets served in the waters off the country’s coastline, and
not inland.
The ruling marks a major victory for so-called “blue water”
Navy veterans who have fought the department for years over the denials. VA
officials have said the existing scientific evidence doesn’t justify the
presumption of toxic exposure for the group and have strongly opposed
legislative efforts to overturn their decision.
But the 9-2 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit overturns past court opinions backing up VA, saying that
Congress never intended to exclude service members in the seas around Vietnam
when they awarded presumptive benefits for certain illnesses related to Agent
Orange exposure.
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