The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") has decided to designate ALS, the disease also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, as a service-connected disability for all veterans, regardless of their time in service. VA previously offered a presumption related to ALS only for veterans of the First Persian Gulf War. Vets from the first Gulf War have contracted ALS at an alarming rate. However, all veterans are more likely than the rest of the population to contract ALS.
ALS is a horrible disease which causes paralysis, but leaves a person's mind fully intact. Our research has shown that it often results in death in 3 to 5 years from the time a person starts showing symptoms and is diagnosed.
This was the right thing to do, and we applaud VA for making this decision. Of course, the devil is in the details, so we are waiting to see the final regulations which VA issues, but this is a step in the right direction.
Here is the full story in the Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.als25jul25,0,5102561.story?track=rss
Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. Any content borrowed or referenced from another source is referenced by citation to the original source as noted in the text above.
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