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BILLINGS - Hundreds of thousands of people, both soldiers and civilians, have been harmed by Agent Orange.

We often blog about the intricate details of specific issues in VA law, so I wanted to take a moment to take us back to the basics of VA disability benefits. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provides a number of different types of benefits, including: pension benefits, vocational benefits, readjustment benefits, Section 1151 benefits (similar to medical malpractice benefits), dependency and indemnity benefits (DIC), and VA disability compensation benefits. This blog will focus on the basics of VA disability compensation benefits.

A lot of Veterans think that not being able to get or hold a job is enough for them to prove to the VA that they are unemployable. Unfortunately, this is just a myth. The reality is much more complicated. Another myth is that having a statement from a doctor, especially a VA doctor, saying that you cannot work, should be proof of unemployability. But again, this is not the reality. When it comes to proving unemployability, there is a certain level that the VA looks at to determine if a Veteran is eligible for this benefit, regardless of their disability rating. This level of eligibility is functional impairment.

Most US Veterans who worked around asbestos and have an asbestos related lung condition know to apply for VA disability compensation benefits. At Hill and Ponton, we are here to help Veterans fight for their VA benefits. Today, however, we are leaving our area of specialization to make sure Veterans who have been exposed to asbestos know about another benefit they can file for, the Asbestos Trust Funds. Veterans, and their family members, who have asbestos-related conditions, are eligible for a monetary compensation from one or more of several trust funds created to pay victims of asbestos exposure by companies who manufactured and used asbestos, including the US Military. The creation of the trust funds started with the Federal-Mogul Corporation.

BILLINGS - Hundreds of thousands of people, both soldiers and civilians, have been harmed by Agent Orange.

HOLIDAY, Fla. (WFLA) - Birth defects and heart problems are showing up not only in the children, but the grandchildren of Veterans who served in America's military during the Vietnam War.

DULUTH, Minn. — Eight years after being deployed in Afghanistan, a Minnesota Air National Guard Veteran said he's still living with the side effects of an anti-malaria drug he took while overseas.

HOLIDAY, FLA(WFLA) - For years, the family of Lonnie Kilpatrick suspected Agent Orange sickened not only Lonnie, but his children and grandchildren too.

CINCINNATI, OH (WCMH) -- A military veteran in Ohio has a service dog to help him deal with his PTSD, but the vet got in legal trouble when he brought the dog with him to a VA hospital.

RANTOUL — Levels of perfluorinated compounds at significantly higher-than-acceptable levels have been found in a low-level aquifer, Salt Fork Creek surface water and ground water at four fire demonstration areas on the former Chanute Air Force Base.