Over the years we have noticed a small coterie of very successful lawyers who take on Hep. cases and win them with seeming ease. Virginia Girard-Brady is one. Here, she demonstrates that even in a pool full of VA law sharks, she can emerge unscathed with victory in her grasp.

The client she chose to represent has a checkered past to put it mildly. He has some down time at the Texas Home for Wayward Vets, a possible, although undocumented, drug history and testimony that changes over time. He has one thing he needs though-jet gun immunizations while in service. Because the VA examiner left the door ajar, the VLJ has pushed it open wider:

However, the October 2008 VA examiner further stated that a
relationship between the Veteran's hepatitis C and air gun
injections in service cannot be excluded without resorting to
speculation.  Such clinical statements lend toward an
interpretation that it is biologically plausible that the
Veteran's hepatitis C was transmitted in service by air gun

As a class of Veterans, we seem to be getting more traction on this. Four years ago I would not have even suggested listing it as a risk factor. Now, I wouldn’t consider filing a claim without throwing that in. If one looks at the history of VA hep. claims, they can see a gradual maturing of the process. The practice of denying simply because your medrecs didn’t metion HCV in service in 1970 is being debunked by courts who have finally come to realize that it was impossible to test for it then. This was a long time in coming. It almost always involved a doctor pointing it out to an uninformed VLJ. While there is no substitute for the gold standard of a qualified nexus letter, having a good law dog at your side and a smart judge can often go a long way towards achieving a win.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp11/Files1/1101581.txt

I don’t know when or if VA will ever do a study on HCV and jetguns. It seems more remote every day as if they just wish we’d all hurry up and die before they have to litigate in earnest or worse- admit culpability for this sorry mess.

Agent Orange claims began to surface as early as 1982 with the culmination of the 1984 Nehmer settlement (Nehmer 1). VA did their ostrich imitation for another 7 years before being called to task in 1991 (Nehmer 2). Patricia Lupole of HCVets and her merry band have been waving the jetgun allegations under the VA’s nose far longer with limited success. This decision is vindication for her work. These victories are far too infrequent and  the consensus is that the VA still is in denial. Rome certainly wasn’t burned down in a day and we can’t expect a landslide acceptance of this overnight either. The mere fact that Vets are winning these claims without having to lean on other risks to buttress their contentions bodes well for the future of the process. And yes, having Ms. Girard-Brady in your corner is a mighty big plus as well.

I’m not advertizing here, but if you have a claim for hepatitis, this is the one you want. She can be reached by viewing this site:

http://local.yahoo.com/info-17899398-girardbrady-virginia-a-abs-legal-service-lawrence

No one’s perfect at law, but the sun does seem to rise over her shoulder.