LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Gulf War Syndrome Medical Claims to Be Reviewed
Washington, DC: The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it will review disability claims and update regulations affecting veterans, including those suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.
Reports suggest that as many as 700,000 veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from chronic fatigue, heightened chemical sensitivity, skeletal pain, skin rashes and other medical conditions that physicians have been unable to attribute to a single cause. And because no one cause has so far been determined, the VA has denied veterans' medical claims.
This, despite the fact that in 2009 a federal panel of medical experts reached a consensus on Gulf War Illness, stating that it is real and affects at least a quarter of the all veterans who served in the 1990-91 conflict. This followed on from a report released by a Veterans' Affair advisory panel in 2008 which stated that scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War Syndrome is real. Furthermore, it has identifiable causes, and carries serious consequences for affected veterans.
Some of the possible causes have already been identified by the Pentagon, according to a report in TampaBay.com. In 1996 the Pentagon admitted that as many as 15,000 troops may have been exposed to nerve agents as a result of Iraqi munitions demolition projects. And, in 1997, the Pentagon stated that nearly 100,000 US troops may have been exposed to "nondamaging" levels of Iraqi poison gas. In 1999, survey results suggested that 300,000 troops had received experimental drugs to protect them against nerve gas, and that these drugs may have led to chronic conditions. Other theories relating to the development of Gulf War Illness include exposure to pesticide and oil well fires.
The VA reportedly claims that 85 percent of veterans who filed claims after fighting in the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991 have been granted benefits for at least one medical ailment. However, difficulty in having claims accepted for the totality of health problems such as Gulf War Illness, remains.
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Reports suggest that as many as 700,000 veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from chronic fatigue, heightened chemical sensitivity, skeletal pain, skin rashes and other medical conditions that physicians have been unable to attribute to a single cause. And because no one cause has so far been determined, the VA has denied veterans' medical claims.
This, despite the fact that in 2009 a federal panel of medical experts reached a consensus on Gulf War Illness, stating that it is real and affects at least a quarter of the all veterans who served in the 1990-91 conflict. This followed on from a report released by a Veterans' Affair advisory panel in 2008 which stated that scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War Syndrome is real. Furthermore, it has identifiable causes, and carries serious consequences for affected veterans.
Some of the possible causes have already been identified by the Pentagon, according to a report in TampaBay.com. In 1996 the Pentagon admitted that as many as 15,000 troops may have been exposed to nerve agents as a result of Iraqi munitions demolition projects. And, in 1997, the Pentagon stated that nearly 100,000 US troops may have been exposed to "nondamaging" levels of Iraqi poison gas. In 1999, survey results suggested that 300,000 troops had received experimental drugs to protect them against nerve gas, and that these drugs may have led to chronic conditions. Other theories relating to the development of Gulf War Illness include exposure to pesticide and oil well fires.
The VA reportedly claims that 85 percent of veterans who filed claims after fighting in the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991 have been granted benefits for at least one medical ailment. However, difficulty in having claims accepted for the totality of health problems such as Gulf War Illness, remains.
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Gulf War Syndrome Medical Claims to Be Reviewed
March 2, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it will review disability claims and update regulations affecting veterans, including those suffering from Gulf War Syndrome. READ MORE
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READER COMMENTS
Carl L White
on
Rosalind Evans
on
fibromyalgia they have nothing to get rid of my lizard type skin rash that I came home from the Gulf with over 25 years ago and it still hasn't gone away I have flare ups all the time I'm so tried of not feeling well, and I hate the fact that the doctor's at the VA don't know why and their seems to be no real help for us why ae we still have pain other issues after years from the Combat Zone , I was told that all my issues will go-away un time that was twenty five years ago , I've had some sort of attack on my systems and I woke-up nine hours later in the ICU at the VA Hospital Guess what my diagnostic was You Guessed it, (Unknown Illness/Diagnostic/Unprovoked Seizure? It seems to be some sort of game what are we not be told was it the secret injection that we all had to take ? Who Knows. We served and protected our country now they won't tell us wants really wrong with us.
Craig Meriwether
on
Prior to 1990 I had none of these conditions.
I served 9/90 - 4/91.
Darwin Jefferson
on
The so call doctors (PA) at the VA are not hired to serve the veterans but to disprove anything we file for compensation.