CHARLESTON, W.Va. - At least 1,200 veterans across the country have been mistakenly told by the Veterans Administration that they suffer from a fatal neurological disease.
One of the leaders of a Gulf War veterans group said panicked veterans from Alabama, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming have contacted the group about the error.
Denise Nichols, the vice president of the National Gulf War Resource Center, said the VA is blaming a coding error for the mistake.
Letters dated Aug. 12 were intended to notify veterans who have Lou Gehrig’s disease of disability benefits available to them.
No one knows for sure exactly how many letters were mailed to veterans treated at VA hospitals and how many were a mistake.
“VA is immediately reviewing the individual claims files for all the recipients of this letter to identify those who received the notification in error,’’ the VA said in a statement last night.
Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, is a rapidly progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles.
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