Agent Orange exposure is linked to various long-term health problems for veterans, including the development of type 2 diabetes. The VA recognizes the relationship between Agent Orange and diabetes, so you don’t have to provide additional proof that they’re service-connected for benefit consideration.
Understanding the connection between your service and this chronic condition can help you navigate VA benefits to get the support you need and deserve.
Key Takeaways
- The VA formally recognizes a connection between Agent Orange exposure and type 2 diabetes.
- Veterans who qualify for presumptive VA disability benefits for diabetes do not need to prove service connection.
- If your service-connected diabetes causes stroke, heart disease, depression, or other health conditions, you could be owed additional compensation.
Our team is ready to help
In this article about Agent Orange and diabetes:
What is Agent Orange?
In the 1960s, the military began using Agent Orange, a powerful defoliant designed to strip leaves from trees and plants, across many locations. During the Vietnam War, the military deployed Agent Orange extensively overseas. It was stored on U.S. soil at military bases, aboard Navy ships, and on Air Force planes.
Agent Orange contained dioxin, a deadly carcinogen. Although the government knew dioxin posed serious dangers, they didn’t think soldiers would be exposed while deploying the herbicide.
Exposure to Agent Orange can trigger severe physical, psychological, and neurological health problems.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus, commonly called simply “diabetes,” occurs when you have too much sugar in your blood. This can cause health concerns and can even become life-threatening.
The two types of diabetes are:
- Type 1. This is when your pancreas doesn’t make insulin. Insulin helps your body process and store glucose for your cells to use. Type 1 diabetes typically appears early in life, but it can develop in adults.
- Type 2. This type occurs when your pancreas doesn’t make as much insulin as it used to, and your body becomes insulin-resistant. Type 2 diabetes results from lifestyle choices and tends to develop gradually.
Are Agent Orange and diabetes connected?
Type 2 diabetes is a presumptively service-connected condition for veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
This means veterans who served in qualifying locations during specific timeframes and were exposed to Agent Orange don’t need to show any additional evidence to establish a service connection for their diabetes. The VA will assume your diabetes was caused by Agent Orange if you can prove your exposure satisfies the criteria for a presumptive service connection.
Veterans who are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange are those who served in:
- Vietnam: On land and some vessels between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. This exposure includes those stationed in Blue Water Navy ships.
- C-123 airplanes: You served in an Air Force unit location where a C-123 aircraft with traces of Agent Orange was assigned, and had repeated contact with this aircraft.
- Korea: In or near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between Sept. 1, 1967, and Aug. 31, 1971
- Thailand: Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base between Jan. 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976
- Herbicide test sites and storage: This exposure may have occurred at military bases in the U.S. or other countries, and also includes veterans who transported Agent Orange.
- Laos: Between Dec. 1, 1965 and Sept. 30, 1969
- Cambodia: At Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province between April 16, 1969 and April 30, 1969
- Guam or American Samoa (or in the territorial waters): Between Jan. 9, 1962 and July 31, 1980
- Johnston Atoll (or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll): Between Jan. 1, 1972, and Sept. 30, 1977
- Reservists also have additional locations and service periods that can qualify them
You will still need to be prepared to show you served in one of the above locations and time periods, and to prove the severity of your condition with medical evidence, to receive VA disability benefits.
VA disability for Agent Orange diabetes mellitus
The VA rates type 2 diabetes with diagnostic code 7913 in the Schedule of Ratings. Ratings may be 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, or 100%, based on your symptoms and treatment. This includes whether you require hospitalization or regular visits to a diabetic care provider for your condition.
The ratings and compensation for diabetes mellitus are as follows:
Common conditions secondary to diabetes
Once you develop diabetes as a result of Agent Orange exposure, you may also develop other conditions with secondary service connections that you’ll also want to seek benefits for.
“You served in Vietnam, and because you served in Vietnam, you’re presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. If you later develop diabetes, it is presumed that it came from your Agent Orange exposure,” explained VA disability lawyer Cecilia Ton. “That’s actually not the hard part. The hard part is all the conditions that are caused by your diabetes are now also considered service-connected. Those are what we call secondary service-connected benefits.”
Diabetes can increase the risks of:
- Heart disease
- Strokes
- Nerve damage that can cause loss of blood flow to the limbs (diabetic neuropathy)
- Kidney failure
- Vision issues and blindness (diabetic retinopathy)
- Skin infections
- Hearing impairment
- Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
- Depression
If you haven’t developed any of these conditions at this time, you’ll still want to be aware of these potential secondary connections in case you develop them in the future.
TDIU for Agent Orange diabetes
In some cases, a veteran may be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for severe diabetes and other conditions connected to Agent Orange. TDIU is also known as individual unemployability or simply IU. Veterans are eligible for these benefits if they can’t hold down “substantially gainful” employment due to their service-connected conditions.
Veterans who receive TDIU benefits are compensated at the same level as those with a 100% disability rating, even though their combined rating is below 100%.
Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:
- At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more
“Woods & Woods was God sent. They were able to get me to where I wanted to be on my VA claims and they never kept me wondering. Always communicated and made sure things were done on time and correctly. Thanks a million and I will always recommend you [Woods & Woods] to any soldier I come in contact with.”
L.W., Army veteran from Georgia
From a Google review for Woods & Woods
How Woods & Woods can help
Woods & Woods has been fighting for people with injuries and disabilities since 1985. Our team of accredited VA disability lawyers, case managers, legal analysts, and intake specialists know the ins and outs of the VA so you don’t have to do all the hard work. Call us today for your free and confidential case evaluation.
Ready to get started?
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Exposure to Agent Orange can cause type 2 diabetes. This connection is recognized as a presumptive by the VA, This means you only need to prove that you were in qualifying locations during specific time periods when Agent Orange was used. You do not need a medical nexus from a doctor establishing a connection between your Agent Orange exposure and diabetes.
The VA rates diabetes at 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, or 100%, depending on what is needed to manage the condition and your symptoms. These ratings correspond to either $175.51, $346.95, $774.16, $1,395.93, or $3,831.30 a month for an unmarried veteran with no dependents.
Neil Woods
Neil Woods is a VA disability attorney and the owner and president of Woods & Woods. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
