When my husband was 19 and in the Army RESERVE at summer camp at Ft.
Lewis, Washington in 1968, in a chemical weapons school they put
liquid mustard gas on his arm and then made him breathe it out of a
beaker. Within a year he started developing aut-immune disease. He now
is 53 years old and has been sick for 33 years, disabled since January
1987.  He has scleroderma, ankylosing spondylitis, Raynaud's syndrome,
pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, an enlarged heart, and his
esophagus works both directions. He is on oxygen 24/7 and can't walk
across the room.  He needs a double-lung transplant. The VA is running
us around the block, not wanting to take responsibility for this. I
have done quite a bit of research and it is clear that the exposure to
this chemical weapon with the wrong genetic "underpinnings" is a
lethal combination.  The VA has refused our claim. Does anyone know a
way to cut through the red tape and get in touch with someone who can
help us?

---

Request for Question Clarification by nancylynn-ga on 12 Feb 2003 14:35 PST

Hello patrice1-ga:

I am very sorry to hear your story. My family knows several veterans
who've suffered from Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome, and they have
also had some difficulties dealing with the VA.

Could you please tell me: 1): on what basis your husband was denied
this claim? 2): the city and/or state where you live? This information
may help me in my research.

I do have some leads on advocate organizations and law firms that may
be able to help you.

Thanks for the clarification,

nancylynn-ga

---

Clarification of Question by patrice1-ga on 13 Feb 2003 20:42 PST

As far as We know,they looked up the diagnosis on their "compensatable"
                      diagnoses list and it wasn't there.  Part of the
                      reason it wasn't there is because they got the
                      diagnoses wrong. My husband wrote his diagnoses as
                      "Scleroderma and Raynaud's syndrome."  They refused
                      him on the basis of "Scleroma Raynaud's" - which
                      doesn't even exist. They also said they had read
                      records from Dr. Rutzer at the Corvallis Clinic in
                      Corvallis, Oregon.  There is not now, nor has there
                      ever been a "Dr. Rutzer" at the Corvallis Clinic or
                      anywhere else in Corvallis. Oddly enough, my husband's
                      last name is "Purtzer." See any similarities?  They
                      also refused him on the basis that he did not receive
                      "full body exposure."  Of course, if he had - he would
                      be dead.  The exposure was sufficient to affect his
                      DNA and cause auto-immune disease. The fact that it
                      wasn't full-body exposure seems immaterial to me. It
                      was sufficient exposure - please reread the little
                      "snapshot" of his condition that I provided in the
                      question.

                      2) What town do we live in? I guess you would
                      say Corvallis, Oregon, but we have to move quite a lot
                      to keep my husband in a warm enough climate.  The
                      claim was originally filed in San Diego where we were
                      staying for the winter at the time. Right now we're in
                      Chico, California.

                                          Thanks.

                      Patrice1


                      __________________________________________________
                      



                              










                     Previous

Hello patrice1-ga: 

Thanks for your clarification. 

What a terrible mess this case is! I know that dealing with a
bureaucracy is never simple, but the blunders made regarding your
husband's case -- having the diagnoses and names turned inside out --
are spectacular.

There is no magical person or agency that can absolutely cut through
the red tape for you. Researching this question was a sad lesson in
just how many disabled and chronically ill vets (including those
exposed to chemicals) are clamoring for help with their claims. (If I
may editorialize: the treatment of our nation's veterans -- especially
those suffering from serious illnesses, such as your husband -- is
truly a disgrace.)

But I have found advocacy groups for you and some legal resources. As
far as I can tell, you are absolutely going to need a lawyer. Even if
the appeal of your husband's claim doesn't work out, a skilled lawyer
may be able to launch a lawsuit, or find some other legal avenue for
compensation.

It is important that you appeal the denial of your husband's claim as
soon as possible. You are going to need legal counsel, as you may well
have to take this case to the US Court Of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Because you move around, geography is also an issue. Your main
residence is Corvallis, Oregon, but you filed the claim in San Diego,
CA? I believe any appeal of the denial will probably have to begin
through the San Diego office of the VA, if that's where the process
was begun. (Despite the fact that you now live in another CA town.)

In looking for lawyers certified to argue before the Court of Veterans
Claims I tried to find mainly CA firms. That wasn't as easy as I'd
thought.

One of the most promising leads I found among law firms appears to be
the Joseph R. Moore legal firm in Washington D.C., which handles cases
nationwide.

The firm handles mostly psychiatric disability claims, but also takes
on other types of veterans' claims. There's no upfront fee; the fee is
deducted from the settlement. You can find info about the Moore firm
at:
http://www.veteranlaw.com

The National Veterans Association of America assists veterans with
claims. See:
http://www.nvo.org/indexnormal.shtml

That site also includes a list of attorneys who represent veterans on
a VA claims.
http://www.nvo.org/attorneys.htm
Scroll all the way down at that site and you'll find a CA attorney:
Samuel L. Hart, 6355 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 529 Woodland Hills, CA
91367. Office Phone: (818) 992-4225 Fax (818) 992-4335; E-mail:
samh1@flash.net

You can find CA lawyers certified to practice before the VA Court of
Appeals, listed at:
http://www.vetapp.gov/Practitioners/default.asp?type=and+D_REPS.REPTYPEID+%3D+1&state=and+d_repsaddress.state%3D%27CA%27&button=Search

If you can't find or afford a lawyer, then for legal help in San Diego
try the VFW's Service Program, which offers personnel who function as
legal advisers. If you scroll down, you'll see the office for San
Diego:
http://www.vfwca.org/service.html

You can also contact the National Veterans' Legal Services Program
(although I couldn't find a link that explains their full range of
services, they do have an e-mail address for inquiries) at:
http://www.nvlsp.org/
and they may be able to help you find someone who will represent your
husband pro bono.

An advocacy site for veterans:
http://www.webtol.com/standingwatch/

Standing Watch also has a link to a list of lawyers, listed by state,
who handle VA claims.
http://www.webtol.com/standingwatch/office.html

The above sites should be your first step. Here are some additional
resources you may wish to pursue in addition to, or after, consulting
with a lawyer:

This site explains the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 and how
it gives those denied a claim a second chance to apply:
http://www.tpromo.com/usvi/advocate/vcaa.htm

A motherlode of helpful sites can be found at:
http://www.vetsresource.com/ 

You can find a good support group at:
www.VetsforJustice.com, including a chat site re: problems dealing
with the VA:
http://vetsforjusticechat.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=9146083791 

This book may also prove helpful, especially if you just can't afford
legal help:
"Veteran's Survival Guide: How to File & Collect on VA Claims"
(Brasseys, Inc.: Dec. 2002), written by Major John D. Roche:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1574884158/qid=1045256502/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8719325-1357442?v=glance&s=books

In addition to getting a lawyer, or with your lawyer's permission, I
suggest you send a brief, but detailed, outline of your husband's case
-- and the mess the VA made of it, as you explained it to me -- to the
U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
http://veterans.house.gov/about/index.html

and to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
http://www.senate.gov/%7Eveterans/info.htm 

and to California's U.S. Senators:

Barbara Boxer:
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/ 

and Dianne Feinstein:
http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html

Also try writing to the CA Legislature's Committee on Veterans'
Affairs (you'll have to scroll down to see the names):
ftp://leginfo.public.ca.gov/pub/dailyfile/sen/senate_committees

and you can then find those members' full names and addresses at
(writing to chair of the committee should be sufficient):
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Try Oregon representatives too, if that's your official residence,
including state senator Cliff Trow, E-mail: cliff.trow@state.or.us
1835 NW Juniper Pl. Corvallis 97330

and U.S. congressman Peter DeFazio, whose district includes Corvallis:
http://www.house.gov/defazio/index.htm

It never hurts to approach local media either. You may want to send a
concise, one-page letter or e-mail to the editor and news producer at
your local paper and TV station. Media attention tends to draw help
from politicians, too!

Two of my fellow Google Researchers have posted some helpful comments
for you (below) that are also well worth exploring.

Search strings I used:

"veterans claims disputes VA"

"disabled veterans advocates"

"attorney VA claims denied"

"help appealing VA claim"

"San Diego attorneys VA claims" 

I hope this information helps, and I wish you success. If you need
more help, or if this info isn't satisfactory, please let me know.

Sincerely,
nancylynn-ga

I can't imaging what more I could want - she was very fast and
thorough.  She thought of things, people and places that we didn't
even know existed!  Thanks so much!

You may want to consider hiring an attorney who specializes in VA
disability appeals.

Here are two such attorneys:

http://hometown.aol.com/sdevita/myhomepage/profile.html

http://www.gcbanj.org/fichera.htm

Read this:

IS MILITARY RESEARCH HAZARDOUS TO VETERANS' HEALTH?
LESSONS SPANNING HALF A CENTURY

http://www.datafilter.com/mc/militaryHumanExperimentationReport94.html

You might be able to get some useful direction by contacting:

American Justice Federation
3850 S. Emerson Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46203
Telephone:  (317) 780-5200; FAX: (317) 780-5209

or: The Alliance for Human Research Protection
http://www.researchprotection.org/infomail/1002/09.html

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

Hello patrice1:

Thank you for the nice rating. Like all Google Answer researchers, I
am truly trying to help people. I'm very troubled by your plight and I
hope some of the leads I gave you will yield success in your appeal. I
wish you the best.

Sincerely,
nancylynn-ga