Oregon Injury Attorney Blog

The Oregonian ran a front page story on the striking increase in mental illness among soldiers returning Iraq and Afganistan Vets. This study, from the American Journal of Public Health , is one of the first to suggest that the higher mental illness rates are due to the fact that more of the soldiers serving in the Middle East are older, and reservists. On a positive note, increased awareness about PTSD and a willingness to discuss the issue may factor into the increase in reported cases.

I've had the honor of representing several Veterans, including Viet Nam Vets. Saigon fell when I was ten years old, and I never thought that I would be representing Veterans from that conflict so many years later. I expect that our troops will be dealing with the effects from these wars for years to come, and hope we are better prepared to offer the help they deserve.

Other Links:

Iraqi War Veteran's Association

National Veterans Association

Oregon Veteran's recently testified before the Oregon Legislature to urge passage of a bill that would allow a one time payment of $20,000.00 to Iraq vets exposed to the toxic chemical hexavalent chromium. The troops were guarding contractors working on a water treatment plant when they were exposed to the chemical. One soldier is dead from complications from leukemia, and several others suffer respiratory problems, immune disorders, and chronic coughs. The company, KBR, was a subsidiary of Halliburton, and its own employess, along with other Guard members, have sued the war contractor, claiming it disregarded obvious warning signs that the chemical was dangerous.

There are studies that show it only takes 40 micrograms of hexavalent chromium per cubic meter, which equal to a grain of salt cubic yard, to significantly increase the risk of lung cancer, leukemia, stomach, brain, renal, bladder and bone cancers.

Other Helpful Links:

VA Watchdog dot org

Viet Nam Veterans of America

Gulf Vet Study: One in Four Vets Exposed to Toxics

CNN reported recently about a case involving delays in processing VA disability claims. Several military groups sought injunctive relief, asking the court to impose deadlines on the Veteran's Administration to process long standing disability claims. The Judge ruled against the military groups, explaining that it is up to Congress, not the Courts, to determine whether the VA is acting in a timely manner.

An "injunction" is a certain kind of remedy that a party seeks when going to court. Sometimes, a lawsuit requests money damages, but in other cases, the party does not want money. They want a defendant to do something, or stop doing something. In this case, the veterans groups were asking a court to force a government agency to do it's job differently. However, unless the vet groups can prove that the VA is breaking one of its own laws, this can be a tough case.

We are currently seeing a similar problem with Social Security disability claims, with serious backlogs in the hearing wait times. The Oregonian is currently investigating and reporting on the backlog, which makes for some interesting reading.

Social Security disability and VA disability are two completely different benefit systems, but suffer the same disease; limited resources and an increasing case load. Vets returning from overseas are going to need a lot of help with disability claims, and they deserve every bit of it. Baby boomers who worked so hard for decades and paid social security insurance are getting older, and for the few that suffer disabling health problems should at least have the right to have their claims heard.

With so much on the new administration's plate, I hope these two important issues are not overlooked.

Many of my Social Security Clients are veterans, and many of those are disabled. In a lot of cases, the only health care available for vets is the VA Hospital in Portland. There is a clinic at Camp Rilea, but in a lot of cases, any real treatment requires a trip to Portland.

The Oregonian reported some good news for Vets recently. A new clinic is opening in Hillsboro, and there are plans for clinics in Oregon City, The Dalles, and a part time clinic in Lincoln City. Hopefully, this will ease some of the long wait times to get proper care.