Many veterans are unaware of the less well-known benefits, such as the automobile adaptive allowance, even if they often are aware of or participate in the VA health care system and get VA disability compensation for a disability related to their service.

The VA Automobile Allowance: What Is It? | Service-connected Disability

Veterans who are unable to drive due to a service-connected disability may be eligible for an automobile adaptive allowance. To help veterans with specific sorts of impairments, VA now provides an adapted equipment benefit in addition to the allowance.

If granted the VA automobile allowance, the benefit entails a one-time payment of $21,488.29, which, as of 2021, may be applied toward the purchase price of an adaptive equipment automobile or other conveyance.

The benefit may be used to modify a vehicle for special equipment.

Examples of Adaptive Equipment

• Power steering
• Brakes
• Seats
• Windows
• Lift equipment to enter and exit the specially equipped vehicle.

Who Is Eligible for Automobile Allowance or Adaptive Equipment?

Veterans and active duty service members with a service-connected disability that the VA identifies as affecting their ability to drive are eligible for the automobile allowance and adaptive equipment benefit.

At least one symptom on the VA-approved list of service-connected illnesses must be present in the veteran or service member.

What Conditions Are Approved for Automobile Allowance?

The veteran or service member must meet one of the requirements below to be eligible for an automobile allowance or adaptive equipment allowance:

• Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both feet, or
• Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both hands, or
• Permanent decreased vision in both eyes: 20/200 vision or less in your better eye with glasses, or greater than 20/200 vision but with a visual field defect that has reduced your peripheral vision to 20 degrees or less in your better eye, or
• A severe burn injury, or
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or
• Ankylosis in one or both knees or hips (Note: This condition is only applicable for an adaptive equipment grant).

How to Apply for an Automotive Allowance or Adaptive Equipment Allowance: VA Form 21-4502

Essentially, the veteran or service member must have earned a service connection before purchasing the car or installing the adaptive equipment in order to apply for an automobile allowance or an adaptive equipment grant. Service members may apply for these VA benefits before military discharge or after.

Veterans must state that they are service-connected for one of the accepted conditions when applying for either an automotive allowance or an adapted equipment allowance.

Furthermore, veterans or military service members must complete VA Form 21-4502, or Application for Car or Other Conveyance and Adaptive Equipment, to request an automobile allowance for a specially equipped vehicle. If the grant is approved, VA will pay the equipment seller directly.

The VA Form 10-1394, or Application for Adaptive Equipment-Motor Vehicle, must be completed by military members in order to apply for the adaptive equipment grant. In exchange for this grant, the VA may choose to directly pay the equipment seller or the veteran or military member.

Timeline of Automobile Allowance VA Benefits

Fill out VA Form 21-4502 and send it to your local VA regional office to apply for the automotive allowance as a veteran or servicemember (RO).

The RO issues a decision either approving or rejecting the allowance. Furthermore, the RO must consider the veteran’s eligibility for the allowance as well as whether they had previously received it while making this decision.

If someone has already gotten the allowance, they will be turned down because it can only be issued once.

Section II: The RO will complete Section II of the VA Form 21-4502 that the veteran or service member filed if the RO has determined that the veteran is eligible for the vehicle allowance. Thereafter, the veteran or service member will then get this by a letter from the RO.

Section III: Upon obtaining the form with completed Section II, the veteran or service member may then acquire the car. They will complete Section III of the form and then return it back to the RO.

Invoice: The vehicle’s seller will then provide the RO with the invoice for the vehicle.

Last but not least, the RO finance department will finish paying the seller’s vehicle allowance after receiving the invoice.

Adaptive Equipment Allowance Schedule

Although there are a few significant differences, the timing and procedure for the grant for adapted equipment are generally similar to those for the automobile grant.

Application for Benefits

VA Form 10-1394 must be completed by the veteran or service member. A local VA outpatient clinic may provide the form, and its prosthetics department may send it on to the nearby VA RO.

Once the paperwork has been received, the RO will issue a decision. The RO will consider the veteran’s status for a service-connected disability, the date it became effective, and any special authorizations provided by the district VA outpatient clinic into account while making this decision.

Thereafter, the application will be returned to the VA outpatient clinic if the RO decides the veteran is not qualified for the adaptive equipment grant. The prosthetic department of the treating VA Medical Center or clinic shall complete the form and return it to the RO finance department for payment if the RO authorizes the grant.

Payment

Payment is complete once it is delivered to the veteran or the person who installed the adaptive equipment.

Do You Have Questions Concerning Adaptive Equipment and Automobile Allowance? | Contact Us Today

The staff at Paul Ehline Ride are ready to help you if you are a qualified disabled veteran and the VA rejected your application for an automobile allowance and an adaptive equipment motor vehicle.

Our lawyers assist veterans and their families in their efforts to obtain VA benefits and disability compensation. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

If you’d like to check your eligibility for such claims, you can visit any of the federal government websites and follow the steps given.

About Agent Orange in Vietnam War Crimes 

What Is Agent Orange?

Agent Orange is referred to as a mixture of herbicides that was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam war. Its purpose was to defoliate forest cover and clear other areas of vegetation. 

This mix of herbicide was heavily sprayed in all of Vietnam’s agricultural, urban, and forested areas to destroy food crops and expose the enemy. Several herbicides other than Agent Orange was also used in Vietnam; they were code-named Agents White, Blue, Purple, Green, and Pink. 

Why Is Agent Orange Dangerous? 

Contaminated Agent Orange is considered dangerous due to the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) that it contains. TCDD is a by-product of the production of herbicides and is very toxic, even in small amounts. What’s worse is that TCDD in the natural environment can last for many years. 

Why Is Agent Orange Spraying a Cause for Concern? 

A total of 20 million gallons, estimated to be at least two-thirds of the Rainbow herbicides that were used during the Vietnam war, contained the Dioxin-contaminated phenoxy herbicide 2,4,5-T. It was also found that the other herbicides used, in addition to those with Dioxin contamination, were 50 times more than the recommended concentration used for killing plants.

At Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Dr. Jeanne Stellman and her former colleagues examined the spray data from the war and discovered that 366 kilograms of Dioxin were sprayed on South Vietnam. Their discoveries also showed a surplus of inventories of Agent Orange from Johnston Island and Gulfport, MS, located in the Pacific, containing Dioxin of around 6.2 to 14.3 ppt before they were destroyed.

A Further Look into the Investigation of Dioxin Contamination 

From 1994 onwards, a Canadian environmental firm called Hatfield Consultants conducted extensive testing on humans, animals, and the soil to determine the levels of Dioxin that remain in Vietnam’s soil and sediments, as well as the chemical accumulation’s extent into the food chain.

Testing began in A Luoi Valley, an extremely remote valley with barely any agricultural infrastructure and no industry. Between 1965 and 1970, as many as 224 spraying missions had been flown over this site. A Luoi Valley was home to three U.S. military special force bases. On the other hand, A So base was used for three years, where the Agent Orange stored in the barrels of this base was used in the surrounding areas. 

It was in these surrounding heavily sprayed areas of the base where researchers found Dioxin levels of up to 897.85 ppt. Ducks and fish were found to have elevated levels of Dioxin present in their fatty tissues, and the local population was also found to have high levels of dioxin in their breast milk and blood. 

Other areas of the former A Luoi and Ta Bat military bases also had raised levels of Dioxin, ranging between 4.3 ppt to 35 ppt, even though they were only in operation for one year. 

The Air Bases 

The Canadian environmental firm theorized that there were other primarily former military-installed bases that were laden with Dioxin throughout Southern Vietnam. They were later designated as “hotspots,” and these dioxin hot spots were of particular concern. 

From as early as the mid-1990s, at least 28 bases were identified by Hatfield to have raised levels of Dioxin contamination. The Bien How, Phu Cat, and Da Nang bases are among these numerous Dioxin hot spots that have dioxin contamination of above 150 ppt in the sediment and above 1,000 ppt toxic equivalents (TEQ) in the contaminated soils. This was considered to be Vietnam’s standard for remediation. 

All three bases were identified as priorities for remediation by the Vietnamese government; however, the Da Nang air base was of particular concern due to the fact that after the war, it became a domestic and international airport vital to the country’s central coast region. 

Committed to helping Vietnam address the unfavorable Dioxin contamination at the Ben Koa and Da Nang bases was the United States government. This joint project was completed in 2018, and the United States and Vietnam began to work together to remediate the Ben Hoa base in 2019. 

Throughout Southern Vietnam, the remaining dioxin hotspots were found to have much lower dioxin concentrations, most of which fell under the level of remediation. Thus, mitigation efforts in these cases to keep people and animals off the site and the movement of contaminated soil were considered enough. The A So Base in A Luoi and other areas, however, still require more remediation work by the Vietnamese government. 

How Has Agent Orange Affected the General Population?

Vietnam has reported that 400,000 people have either suffered permanent injury or death as a result of Agent Orange exposure. Furthermore, around 2,000,000 people have also suffered from illnesses caused by exposure to Agent Orange, and an estimated 500,000 babies were born with serious birth defects due to the effects of the toxic herbicides used in the Vietnam war. 

Today, Agent Orange is still affecting people’s health, even though major manufacturers have denied that the mix of herbicides has long-lasting impacts on human health. Since as early as 1978, several class action lawsuits have been filed against companies that produced Agent Orange, among these are Dow Chemical, Diamond Shamrock, and Monsanto. 

However, on 7 May 1984, Dow Chemical and the other chemical companies settled a class action lawsuit just before the jury selection was about to begin. They agreed to pay $180 million in compensation if the veterans agreed to drop all claims against them. 

Health Problems Resulting from Exposure to Agent Orange 

Vietnamese people and military veterans exposed to Agent Orange may suffer from congenital deformations or skin diseases, depending on the timing, length, and intensity of their exposure. Due to its high concentrations of Dioxin, Agent Orange is a carcinogen that causes cancers in those that have been exposed. 

In addition, there are also long-lasting impacts on pregnancy, such as abnormal fetal development and miscarriages. Exposure to Agent Orange has also been linked to type 2 diabetes, hormone disruption, heart disease, and dysfunction of the immune and muscular systems. 

Congress enacted the Agent Orange Act of 1991 to give the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to declare certain presumptive conditions as a result of exposure to dioxin, allowing Veterans who served in Vietnam to be eligible to receive treatment and disability compensation for these conditions.

Since 1991, this list has grown and includes:

• Prostate cancer
• Respiratory cancers 
• Parkinson’s disease 
• Multiple myeloma.

How an Attorney at Ehline Law Can Help Victims of Chemical Warfare Recover the Compensation They Deserve

Those who are suffering or have loved ones suffering from serious health effects as a result of exposure to Agent Orange should get into contact with a lawyer from Ehline Law immediately. 

Legal proceedings can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, so it is better to hand them over to the skilled legal team at Ehline Law. They are reliable and compassionate lawyers who will know how to achieve the best possible outcome for your terrible situation. 

Victims can get in touch with Ehline Law today at (213) 596-9642 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. 

The duty to mitigate applies even in the absence of any clause proclaiming the landlord can sleep on their rights and not mitigate. Whether or not a lease agreement has been signed between the landlord and tenant, disagreements arise from time to time, leaving either party seeking the best way to mitigate damages.