Since the 1991 Gulf War, veterans who served in Southwest Asia have reported a high number of health issues. Mysterious skin rashes, gastrointestinal issues, migraines, sleep disturbance, memory issues and joint pain are all symptoms of what has often been called in the press “Gulf War Syndrome.”
As early as 1994 Congress passed laws in an attempt to address this. But decades later, in 2017, the Government Accountability Office reported that VA still denies more than 80{af6e83512be7e3b4cecc791bda27e84cdebe7671cbbd222b753a29df54d2caa8} of Gulf War claims. In congressional testimony in late 2020, Veterans for Common Sense director Anthony Hardie reported that 90{af6e83512be7e3b4cecc791bda27e84cdebe7671cbbd222b753a29df54d2caa8} of undiagnosed illness claims were denied by VA, even though Congress passed the law requiring them to grant those conditions.
This is a familiar story to Vietnam Veterans, who also waited for decades for help with health issues such as diabetes, prostrate cancer, lung cancer and more caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
As a Gulf War veteran myself, I’ve been focused on the issue of Gulf War illnesses since the early 1990s — I was the first executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center back in 1995.
That’s why I’ve chosen to focus a significant of my practice on environmental exposures. It’s appalling that veterans exposed to burn pits, nerve gas and agent orange continue to struggle to get basic help from VA.
As a client, I’ll work with you to identify the health issues which may have been related to your military service, then we’ll systematically work to get recognition from VA.
If you are a Vietnam veteran, Gulf War veteran, or were exposed to burn pits or other environmental hazards, please reach out today for a case assessment.