Blue Water Navy Veterans and
survivors who filed compensation claims in January and February 2020 have so
far received over $140 million in retroactive benefits. This information can be
found in a new monthly report published on the 10th business day of each month
to inform Veterans and other stakeholders about BWN claims decisions.
These figures show the latest
results from VA directly acting upon the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran Act of
2019 that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
The BWN Act extends the
presumption of herbicide exposure, such as Agent Orange, to Veterans who served
in the offshore waters of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May
7, 1975, as well as Veterans who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone
between Sept. 1, 1967, and Aug. 31, 1971. Prior to this law, only Veterans who
served on the ground in Vietnam or within Vietnam’s inland waterways were
eligible to receive disability compensation based on a presumption of herbicide
exposure.
How to file
Filing a claim for BWN benefits
is a straightforward process. Veterans who wish to file an initial claim for an
herbicide-related disability that have not been previously decided by VA can
use VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related
Compensation Benefits, online at
https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim.
However, BWN Veterans who were
previously denied will be able to reapply using VA Form 20-0995, Decision
Review Request: Supplemental Claim. As of Jan. 1, VA began processing BWN
claims that were stayed in the VA review process or under appeal.
Survivors and dependents who have
never filed a claim but want to file a claim now can use VA Form 21P-534EZ.
Survivors and dependents who have been previously denied a Dependency and
Indemnity claim and want to file another claim now can use VA Form 20-0995. For
additional Dependency and Indemnity claims information, visit
https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation.
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