Criss & Rousseau Legal Issues Blog

Texas veterans of the Blue Water Navy can now receive veterans' disability benefits for illnesses caused by Agent Orange exposure after a bill was signed into law. On June 25, President Donald Trump signed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. The bill allows veteran of the U.S. Navy who served off the Vietnamese coast during the Vietnam War to receive disability benefits for these types of medical problems. While veterans who directly served inside Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 are presumed to need coverage for illnesses linked to the use of the toxic herbicide, Navy veterans who served off the coast were previously often denied benefits.

Under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, Navy veterans who served in the waterways of Vietnam were covered for cancer treatment, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and other illnesses and disabilities tied to Agent Orange. This bill, H.R. 299, extends those benefits to all members of the military who served at sea within 12 nautical miles of the Vietnamese coast. These veterans will be eligible for disability benefits for conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to herbicide. The adoption of the law will help veterans whose benefits had been denied or placed into a pending status.

Individuals in Texas and elsewhere who experience mental decline may be generally diagnosed with dementia. In many cases, individuals have Alzheimer's disease, but this is not always true. In fact, research has discovered that thousands of people diagnosed with the condition don't actually have it. Instead, they could have a condition called limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). It is caused by deposits of TDP-43 in the brain as opposed to the buildup of plaques.

Those who have LATE may have misfolded TDP-43 that was caused by a genetic mutation in their DNA. It is estimated that roughly 25% of people over the age of 85 have memory issues because of too much misfolded TDP-43. While it is not the same thing as Alzheimer's, LATE can cause many of the same symptoms. However, it is worth understanding the differences between the two when searching for a cure.

Between May 15 and 19, over 100 people were arrested on a variety of charges at the Jeep "Go Topless" event in Crystal Beach, Texas. The charges included everything from resisting arrest to burglary.

According to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, a total of 113 people were taken into custody at the annual car event, which takes its name from the removable top on Jeep Wranglers. While over a dozen people were arrested for drunk driving, most defendants were charged with misdemeanor offenses like being minor in possession of alcohol or driving without a seat belt.

An attorney in Texas got a man's DUI charge dismissed after he was able to demonstrate that the man was in ketosis from a low-carb diet at the time of the breath test. The man had performed normally during sobriety tests, but his blood alcohol content appeared to be above the legal limit when a breath test was done. However, ketosis can cause a person to blow out isopropyl alcohol, and some types of breath tests may not distinguish between this and ethanol alcohol.

The device most law enforcement agencies have at their stations, which uses infrared spectroscopy, can distinguish between the two types of alcohol. According to the attorney in Texas, the breath test devices that law enforcement generally carry in their cars, which use fuel cell technology, have never been demonstrated in a peer-reviewed study to distinguish between the two types of alcohol. Furthermore, a professor of forensic technology wrote a paper about a man who was on a low-carb diet who was unable to start his company's vehicle, which required a breath test. That device also used fuel cells. However, manufacturers say that their devices are accurate.