Off The Record – Veterans’ Disability – Burn Pit Exposure

Video Transcript

The VA is now beginning to pay claims associated with the burn pits. The VA has what they call presumptive claims. The presumptive claims at this point are asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis. Those are the three presumptive claims that you can launch. One of the most important things to do, I think, at this point, is to really get a diagnosis. The VA is not going to pay a claim unless you have a diagnosis. So if you feel like you have any of these conditions, a breathing condition, a cardiac condition, or suspect you might have cancer, you really want to go to the doctor and start documenting these things.

And most importantly, get on that burn pit registry. It’s really easy to do. You just log on to va.gov and look up “Burn Pit Registry.” The people that are eligible to put themselves on the Burn Pit Registry are veterans who served in Southwest Asia, the theater of operations, basically anytime after August 2nd of 1990. It’s really important to get on that registry, even if you don’t have symptoms. At this point, the VA is watching to see what conditions are stemming from the burn pits.

So if you get on that registry, you start documenting some of your symptoms and conditions, you’re not only helping yourself, but you’re probably helping other veterans that are likely going to come after you. If you have any questions about VA benefits for conditions related to burn pit exposure, please feel free to reach out to us at Turley Redmond & Rosasco. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have. Thank you.