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Welcome to The Veterans Disability Nexus, where we provide unique insights and expertise on medical evidence related to VA-rated disabilities. Leah Bucholz, a US Army Veteran, Physician Assistant, & former Compensation & Pension Examiner shares her knowledge related to Independent Medical Opinions often referred to as “Nexus Letters” in support of your pursuit of VA Disability every Tuesday & Wednesday at 7AM Central.
Take control of your medical evidence related to your benefits and visit https://podcast.prestigeveteranmctx.info/veteran/ for more information and to connect directly with us!
Hey guys, it's Leah B from Prestige Veteran Medical Consulting. I am a U. S. Army veteran, physician assistant, and former compensation and pension examiner. So welcome back to our channel where we unpack VA disability benefits so that you can file and support your claims with stronger medical evidence, protect your rights and get the support you deserve.
Leah bucholz:I am Leah Buchholz and today we're going to take a deep look at a topic that affects veterans and their children and that is congenital birth defects and VA disability compensation. So this episode can be especially important if you are a veteran and you have a biological child who was born with a serious defect, you served in areas with toxic exposures like Camp Lejeune or Vietnam, or you yourself were born with a condition that got worse during service. So here's what we're going to cover today. So what are congenital birth defects? When VA compensates children with birth defects like Vietnam, Korea, Camp Lejeune, etc.
Leah bucholz:Key exposures linked to these conditions and veterans who have congenital conditions that were worsened or aggravated by their military service. So important things to consider when you're filing a claim or appealing these with the help of your accredited representative and common mistakes and successful tips that can help you support your claim from a medical perspective. So what are congenital birth defects? So congenital birth defects are medical conditions that exist at or before birth. They can affect how the body or the brain develops and range from mild to severely disabling.
Leah bucholz:Some examples include things like spina bifida, congenital heart defects, limb deformities, cognitive and developmental disabilities, neural tube or craniofacial defects. Many are genetic but some result from toxic exposures during pregnancy and that's where the VA's responsibility comes in for both children and veterans themselves who are affected. So children of Vietnam and Korea veterans that have been exposed to Agent Orange. So let's start with some this well established category. If you served in Vietnam between '62 and 1975 or in certain parts of Korea between 1967 and '71, you may have been exposed to Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide known to cause serious long term health effects.
Leah bucholz:There's also several other categories of veterans that have been exposed to Agent Orange. Va.gov has a very well prescribed like outline of you know different air bases or different locations or different equipment that was handled by you know a variety of veterans. I definitely urge you to check that out. If your biological child was later born with certain defects the VA may compensate them directly. So what can be covered?
Leah bucholz:For male veterans only spina bifida except for spina bifida occulta. For female Vietnam veterans the VA recognizes a broader list of severe congenital defects excluding those caused by family disorders or birth trauma. Benefits may include things like monthly monetary compensation to the child, health care coverage, vocational training in some cases. These benefits go to the child not to the veteran themselves and claims can be filed by the child if they're of age. So for Camp Lejeune water contamination, so this is a big one.
Leah bucholz:A lot of info came out on the PACT Act last year about Camp Lejeune. Between 1953 and 1987 drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with cancer causing chemicals like TCE, PCE, and benzene. Veterans stationed there and their families were exposed. If your child was conceived while you were stationed at Camp Lejeune and born with a qualifying condition, they may be eligible for VA health care benefits. Conditions include things like birth defects, leukemia or other childhood cancers, neurologic disorders.
Leah bucholz:Unlike the Agent Orange program, the Lejeune related claims don't offer monetary compensation to children but they do cover medical treatment costs. So veterans can also be service connected for congenital conditions that are aggravation based. So here's something most veterans don't really realize that if you had that congenital you may not have even known that you had a congenital birth defect until you were in service or after service and your time in service could have made it worse. You may be able to get it service connected on an aggravational basis. So the VA usually won't service connect congenital defects directly but under the law if military service permanently aggravated a congenital or hereditary condition you can receive compensation in some cases.
Leah bucholz:So some real world examples if you were born with mild scoliosis but years of carrying rucksacks and PT airborne injuries things like that made it painful or made it worse or progressive beyond its natural progression. You also could have something like a congenital hip deformity, but military stress caused a permanent worsening. You were born with a heart valve issue but combat or chemical exposure accelerated the cardiac symptoms. The key word here is that permanent aggravation and you'll need a medical opinion saying that your service made the condition worse beyond its natural progression. You can ask your treating doctor, your cardiologist if it's a heart issue, your family practice doctor, PA, whoever, or you can just rely on that C and P exam that compensation and pension examiner at the VA may provide a positive opinion as well.
Leah bucholz:So what does the research say? So medical literature supports the link between toxic exposures and congenital defects and the law also reflects that. So VA and legal precedents, the VA presumes exposure to Agent Orange if you served in Vietnam or any of those locations related to Agent Orange exposure on va.gov like we mentioned during eligible times. The presumption of soundness means that if a congenital issue wasn't noted at entry the VA has to prove that it wasn't worsened by service. So Camp Lejeune health claims are supported by scientific studies linking chemical exposures to birth defects.
Leah bucholz:Medical articles also back this up. For example, children of exposed veterans have higher rates of neural tube defects. TCE and benzene exposure during pregnancy have been linked to heart and brain defects. Overuse injuries in military service can accelerate congenital joint or spinal problems. So when you're filing a claim, va.gov does a great job of showing you how to do this.
Leah bucholz:They've got a lot of great help docs or you can use a BSO or if it's an appeal maybe a accredited claims agent or an attorney can assist you with this as well if struggle with that. So some things that can help support you is if it's for your child you will you may need to prove that your service in Vietnam, Korea, or Camp Lejeune or whatever, you need to prove that. So your DD214 or other service related documents can help you support that. Birth records, medical documentation. So there's different forms that can be used like the VA Form ten-ten 68 for Camp Lejeune health benefits, any scientific literature, nexus letters if you have them, or VA FAST letters that support your case.
Leah bucholz:If you're looking at an aggravation of your own congenital condition, they may want to look at that pre service diagnosis or documentation if you have any evidence of in service aggravation, training, deployments, physical duties. That nexus is going to be important whether it's from the VA or from your treating doctor that shows that it's at least as likely as not that the military service aggravated your condition beyond its natural progression. So let's go over a few things that I see commonly that are sort of mistakes. So don't just assume that a claim is gonna be approved because your child has a disability. The VA is very specific about qualifying service periods and conditions.
Leah bucholz:Don't forget to prove biological parentage for your kid. Don't let a pre existing diagnosis scare you off. Aggravation based claims are legally valid in many cases and you should work with a VSO or an accredited rep to help you if you need help. Use supporting studies and legal precedents to back up your claim as necessary and if you've been denied consider filing a supplemental claim higher level review or whatever in accordance with the VA's policies regulations and guidelines. And again if that's something that's daunting to you there's an accreditation search tool on va.gov where you can find somebody that can assist you with this that has training and education.
Leah bucholz:So congenital birth defects whether in veterans or their children can be physically and emotionally just devastating. But there are real options of support for you guys out there and those conditions can definitely be tied to military service in many circumstances. If your child has spina bifida and you served in Vietnam, you certainly can apply. If you served at Camp Lejeune and your child has neurologic conditions and if your own congenital condition was worsened then you know don't just stand by you know get the benefits that you deserve and that you're entitled to. I hope this was helpful to you guys please like and subscribe if any of you guys have had experience with this let me know I'd love to hear your stories and as always thank you for See you later!