GAO finds fault with VA’s system for dealing with claims for ailments linked to Agent Orange

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WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs may have denied benefits to thousands of Vietnam veterans suffering from Agent Orange-related conditions because claims processors failed to understand what evidence could be used to validate the claims, the Government Accountability Office said.

In a report released Thursday, the GAO looked into claims submitted in the 2003-2021 fiscal years by veterans suffering from nerve damage, skin cysts and blistering which they believed were due to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used by U.S. Forces in Vietnam to remove jungle cover protecting Communist troops.