For soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Social Security Administration is making sure those affected by a rare lung disease can move ahead on the list if they display disability qualifying conditions stemming from burn pits and fires, according to Army Times. This “compassionate allowance” may help speed up the benefit process and get these veterans the help they need in procuring money while they cannot work.
“The irreversible disease, constrictive bronchiolitis, also called obliterative bronchiolitis or bronchiolitis obliterans, is characterized by the narrowing or obstruction of the lung’s smallest airways, the bronchioles, by scarring or fibrous tissue,” according to the news source. Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said he would be adding this disease and 51 others, including metastatic melanoma and juvenile onset Huntington Disease to the list as of August 11.
One veteran, Army Chief Warrant Officer Neil Rodgers, told the Army Times that this is a “huge breakthrough” for soldiers like him who are affected by the disease, noting that it “practically guarantees us benefits.” Hundreds of other service members were made sick by toxic smoke while serving about 50 suffer from this disease.
The Law Offices of Harold W. Conick and Associates have over 25 years of experience in successfully representing claimants before the Social Security Administration. We stand ready to expeditiously gather and present all evidence necessary to prove our clients case and thereby obtain the benefits they deserve.
