By Jim Fausone, Veteran Disability Attorney

Were you medically discharged from service? Was your discharge between the dates of September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2009? Were you discharged with a combined disability rating of 0%, 10% or 20%? If you have answered yes to all of these questions, then the DoD has created a new program to assist you in getting your discharge upgraded to a disability retirement, the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR).

The PDBR has been accepting applications since 2009. Its purpose is to review disability cases and determine if the veteran should have been awarded a disability retirement (which is a 30% combined disability level or higher). The benefits of having disability retirement are numerous; it enables the veteran to receive higher pay and additional benefits that are only available to those retired from service. The PDBR cannot implement changes; rather, it makes recommendations to the veteran’s Service Secretary who will issue the final decision. As of right now, there is no cutoff date to apply and there is no standard length of time for the total process as it is a newer program.

When a veteran fits the criteria above, they mail a completed DD Form 294 to the Central Intake and Tracking Unit (CITU) at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. You can get a copy of DD Form 294 by visiting www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd0294.pdf. Once your application and supportive non-DoD documents are submitted, your case will be summarized by a medical member of the PDBR for presentation and vote by the PDBR’s Board.

Although there are approximately 70,000 eligible veterans, a mere 2,100 veterans have applied for review as of March 2011. However, of those 3% of eligible veterans who have applied, a promising 56% of cases have been recommended by the PDBR as being eligible for a disability retirement.

Here are some things to consider before you apply for review by the PDBR. It only looks at rated decisions; if you have a disability that was denied and not rated by the military, the PDBR will not review it for recommendation. If the PDBR recommends a disability retirement and the Service Secretary grants it, the benefits are retroactive to the date of your Physical Examination Board’s (PEB) separation action. Finally, the decision of the Service Secretary is final- there are no appeals or requests for reconsideration if new material evidence becomes available.

The traditional option is for the veteran to apply to the Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCMR/BCNR). The BCMR makes both recommendations and decisions. If you were not rated for a disability at the time of discharge, the BCMR/BCNR will consider changing the record to show that you were rated for the disability. If BCMR/BCNR decides in your favor, the benefits are retroactive to the date of separation from service. If an appeal was previously denied, and relevant, newly-discovered evidence becomes available, the BCMR/BCNR will conduct a reconsideration of the appeal.

For more information about PDBR, the application process, and the comparisons between the PDBR & BCMR/BCNR please visit:

http://www.health.mil/About_MHS/Organizations/MHS_Offices_and_Programs/PDBR

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

We all know the IEDs and TBI are the signature problems of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.   Battlefield doctors in Afghanistan diagnosed more than 300 troops per month with concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries last summer.  A recent study suggested an eighth of  an inch of padding would decrease injuries by 24%.  Could it be this simple? Yes.  DOD needs to implement this idea ASAP.  Let’s avoid the problems down the road with VA claims processing, by implementing this simple idea.  Read about this study below. 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-04-17-army-helmets-brain-injury.htm

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

I knew it was coming.  VA now has an app for that.  It recently announced an app for PTSD. The government application for smart phones is called  “PTSD Coach” and users can track their PTSD symptoms, links them with local sources of support, provides accurate information about PTSD, and teaches helpful individualized strategies for managing PTSD symptoms at any moment.

The free PTSD Coach app is now available for download from the iTunes store and will be available for Android devices by the end of the spring.  I have written before on how VA is moving into social media and the importance of adopting technology to properly serve our veterans.  Here is another tool and VA should be applauded for this new concept.

 http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2080

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

When VA recognized additional presumptive disabilities, you could expect an increase in claims. So the VA added 3,000 claims processors last year, for a total of 14,000.

Nevertheless, the number of veterans’ initial disability claims taking more than four months to complete has doubled.  The number of claims that take more than 125 days to decide has gone from 200,000 a year ago to 450,000 today.  This does not count the half million or so claims on appeal after an initial decision. 

So, what are the excuses?  The VA says the delays are due in part to (1) a generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with more complex claims, (2) the expanded compensation for Agent Orange-related illnesses and (3) the poor economy.  Nobody doubts the reasons, but action, not excuses, is what is needed by the VA brass.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-04-07-1Abacklog07_ST_N.htm

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Kristina Derro
Veteran Disability Lawyer

A 2008 survey performed by the military revealed that over 21% of service women are victims of Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Unfortunately, due to the private nature and the stigma attached to this type of assault, along with the embarrassment and fear of retaliation that the victims have, most incidents go unreported. In fact, the Department of Defense has acknowledged that 75% of MSTs are not reported.

Victims of MST suffer through the initial assault and the repercussions during his or her time in service. The victims then end up being re-victimized when they apply for compensation from VA for the assault they suffered. The majority of VA claims for compensation for MST are denied because of a lack of documentation proving that they occurred. At this time, military records documenting MST are destroyed between one and five years after filing. This provides no lasting record for the MST victims.

A new piece of legislation has been recently introduced into Congress by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) and is authored by members of both political parties. This Bill will change the way records regarding MST are made and retained across all five branches of the military. The goal is to allow MST records to be kept for a longer period of time, allowing the documentation to be available if and when the veteran ultimately applies for service connection years down the road. The Bill also includes provisions for research on sexual assault and harassment into the military, in an attempt to discover ways to combat and prevent MST from happening in the first instance.

 Read more about this piece of legislation at:

http://www.vabenefitblog.com/new-bill-addresses-record-keeping-for-military-sexual-trauma/  

Do not be discouraged if you suffered from MST while in the military and failed to report it. Here at Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC (LHFV), we have been successful in getting benefits for those service men and women who either did not report the incident at the time it occurred, or had the records destroyed by the time they filed for VA benefits. In lieu of official military documents, we have used testimony from friends and family members who noticed pronounced changes in behavior in the veteran after the MST. Further, military performance reviews that have documented a significant and sudden decrease in performance have also been helpful in indicating that an MST occurred.

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

After fighting for benefits for years, a veteran is awarded compensation but VA can still cause immense frustration by declaring a veteran incompetent and appointing a fiduciary. A fiduciary is not appointed by a court, just a VA employee. The fiduciary may be a family member or it may be someone you have never heard of and it is just his business.

The VA reports it has appointed people to manage 111,407 accounts with a cumulative value of more than $3.2 billion.  A fiduciary earns 4 percent commission on the money under his care. So $120 million gets paid to fiduciaries rather than to veterans.  The VA’s inspector general has warned, however, that the department does not do enough to protect its veterans from bad acts of fiduciaries. The problems with VA fiduciaries just received attention in the New York Times article attached.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/us/08vets.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com

by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

There are two important points here:  (1) you are entitled to a Purple Heart if you suffered a TBI as a result of enemy action and (2) because Purple Heart status entitles you to special treatment by VA, it is important to receive the Purple Heart.  Military Uniform Regulations currently call for awarding Purple Heart medals for “concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy-generated explosions”.  At the start of these wars, a decade ago, confusion existed about TBI and Purple Hearts but DOD has made it clear that TBI’s are eligible. 

Read  http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-03-17-purpleheart17_ST_N.htm

The VA gives special status to Purple Heart recipients. Veterans who have earned the Purple Heart medal now receive faster service and save money when they access Department of Veterans Affairs health care.  So don’t just walk away from this medal.  It may be important decades from now when you need to access VA health care.

To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com