You served in the military. While doing so, you got exposed to Agent Orange. Now you have some form of respiratory cancer of the lung, larynx, bronchus or trachea. What do you have to prove to seek compensation?
Nothing.
Per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, you “do not have to prove a connection between [your] disease and service.” You can get disability compensation and VA health care, as you’re eligible for both.
If there are other questions, you may need to prove whether or not you served or if you really got exposed to the chemical in question. But, if both of those are true, you do not have to take it a step further and prove that the exposure is why you have the cancer.
For instance, maybe you have smoked all of your adult life. Is it possible that the Agent Orange did not cause your lung cancer, and the smoking did? Certainly, that is a possibility. But you don’t have to prove that it was Agent Orange to get the benefits.
Why is this? Proving that only one factor led to lung cancer may be nearly impossible. Plus, the negative health impacts of Agent Orange and other herbicides have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. The military knows now just how dangerous these exposures were and that these toxins cause cancer. There are no questions about this risk.
Those with a major health condition need care immediately. If you meet the above criteria and have been diagnosed, be sure you know exactly what steps to take to accsess these benefits.
