VA denies local veteran's HepC disability claim
by G.C. Duerden
of The Humboldt Beacon
WWW.HUMBOLDT.COM

Imagine waking in the morning with new pains, some so severe as to cause
nausea. Pains so deep they seem to be bone or organ pain. Some of the lesser
pains are from skin sores.

Getting up is only the start of the difficulties of the day. "It literally
takes hours to get the joints and muscles moving every morning," says
Jeffery Scott Rose, a  Vietnam Veteran, a Navy Corpsman, and local artist.
He had his leg severely broken while in the service. After several surgeries
and having the ravages of a severe disease culminate over the years to a
difficult prognosis now, Rose is trying to survive and raise his daughter on
a small VA disability pension.

He and his VA doctor, at the Eureka VA Clinic, Dr. Phillip L. Wagner,
believe he contracted Hepatitis C while he was in the service. A Navy
Medical Corpsman, he received inoculations from airgun injection systems.
These and other factors are justifications for his claim for total
disability from the VA.

Rose started pursuing his claim when he resided in Montana, a few years
ago. At that time he was a seemingly-healthy hardrock miner and artist. He
was also doing marble mosaics of famous entertainers and historic
individuals.

He and his collection have been written about, have been the material of
one-man shows. But over the past several years his disease and the increased
cost of living has caused Rose consternation about his future.
He has also applied for the VA to provide him full disability due to the
Hep-C disease effects. His claim has been documented by Dr. Wagner and has
been submitted for years, with little if any notice by VA.

In August of this year, Dr. Wagner wrote "Mr. Rose comes in for evaluation
of his long standing hepatitis C.  It has been complicated by having
abdominal ultrasound showing portal sclerosis.  He is also have some
problems with right leg swelling. On further questioning the patient has had
an injury to his right knee in the service in which it was dislocated and he
eventually was discharged from the service due to that injury.

"The patient is currently applying for compensation and pension on the basis
of hepatitis C, previous note indicated that his connection to the service
with an air gun injection for purpose of immunization. Medical records
available show the air gun immunization was performed July 14, 1971 and Aug.
18, 1971. This should establish a medical connection. Currently the
patient's health is generally good but he continues to have significant pain
problems and he is on a VA pension as disabled."

Rose lives in Rio Dell and sleeps on the kitchen floor. His daughter gets
the bedroom. He is barely 'getting by' with his disability compensation from
VA.

The VA denied his claim in September because Rose failed to file a form by
the deadline. Rose has a copy of the signed receipt from the Oakland VA
Center prior to the deadline for that form.

"Calling them, they say I don't exist in their system," Rose says
frustrated. So he called Congressman Mike Thompson's local field office
staff.  Rose called and talked with Allison in Thompson's Eureka Office (she
handles all the veteran's issues).

Earlier this year Rose called Allison at Thompson's office about the length
of time the VA was taking on the claim. Congressman Thompson wrote a letter
to the VA asking the status of Rose's claim and within days Rose received a
letter from the VA. It was a denial letter, but they responded.

So, Rose wanted to see if Thompson could help in this situation. This
chapter hasn't been written yet, but Thompson is a "Combat Veteran" and is a
Vietnam survivor. He won the Purple Heart and other medals for his service
there. So he follows his fellow veteran's issues very closely.

Thousands of veterans suffer due to having hepatitis C, most through no
fault of their own. The 2001 Census tells us 5,126,344 people are infected
with HepC. About three-quarters of those people are veterans.
The Veterans Administration is aware of the HepC (Hepatitis C) Veterans and
their allegation that many of them received the disease from the air gun
injections regularly done in the military during the 1970s.
These injectors were needle less systems that penetrated the skin with
high-pressure fluid which contained the inoculations. These inoculations
were discontinued in 1997 when the DOD Medical Quality Assurance System
offered a Device Alert recommending that use of all jet injectors be
discontinued.

This action was based on the manufacturer of the product "discontinuing
producing and servicing their product. They 'strongly urged the Armed Forces
to discontinue use of the product' until studies conclude that no risk is
present for blood borne disease transmission," according to a statement by
Dr. Sue Bailey, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, on
July 9, 1998.

In addition to the air gun injections, other possible methods of
contamination by HepC, or other blood borne diseases, include vaccine
contamination, medical procedures, reused medical devices, surgery, reusable
lancets, blood transfusions, dental procedures, razors, barbers,
Ear/Nose/Throat scopes, tears, toothbrushes, and other means.

Testimony of Dr. Gary R. Roselle, M.D., Program Director for Infectious
Diseases for Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs,
before the Congressional subcommittee on Benefits for the Committee of
Veterans' Affairs, on April 13, 2000, stated one in 10 U.S. Veterans are
infected with HepC virus, a rate five times greater than the rate for the
general population.

Dr. Roselle said 60 percent of all positive test results account directly
back to the veterans who served in Vietnam. It is also reported that more
than half of all liver transplants within the VA system are infected with
HepC.

Part of the problem is also that during the Vietnam era, there were no
universal precautions in place.  It was common practice to reuse needles and
lancets, medically. Medical personnel did not wear gloves or take
precautions from blood splattering in trauma or surgical cases.

VA's reluctance to concede to the mounting evidence of the HepC epidemic
being service connected is very reminiscent of the Agent Orange issue of the
70's and 80's, or the "Desert Flu" issue of the mid and late 90's.

"Pressure must be brought on the VA to give all veterans the respect they
deserve. Such respect means providing proper care of our veterans and
military personnel without delay," says the HepC Movement for Awareness
website http://hcvets.com

And Rose wouldn't mind that, either.