by Kristina Derro
Veterans Disability Lawyer

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 regarding the historically rocky transition for service members between leaving the Department of Defense (DoD) and beginning to receive medical treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Researchers found that increasing levels of drug abuse and suicides among recently-separated combat veterans can be partly blamed on inadequate coordination as service members are discharged from the military and become the responsibility of VA.

A lack of coordination was also found to negatively affect the treatment of combat-related injuries. At the DoD, injured service members receive state-of-the-art care, receive counseling services, and are prescribed narcotics to treat pain. When service members are discharged and begin to receive their medical care from VA, research has shown that VA improperly manages their narcotic medications, making them more likely to abuse drugs, become homeless, or commit suicide. Further, due to a rocky handoff, veterans at VA also have physicians who are unfamiliar with the course of treatment that those veterans were receiving while with the DoD.

The area of prosthetics is one example where the lack of coordination and lack of familiarity hurt the veterans. The DoD has outstanding prosthetics for its amputees. Upon arrival at VA, many VA physicians are fascinated by the high-tech devices, having never seen them before, and are more interested in examining the devices rather than examining the veterans.

Both the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs recognized the need for a truly seamless handoff from the DoD to the VA medical facilities. Recognizing the problem is the first step, however it seems that the VA has a history of being unable to rectify the problems even though they have been sufficiently identified.

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
Veterans Disability Lawyer

The research continues on veterans and sleep apnea. A study presented in May 2011 at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting suggests that sleep disturbances like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), excessive awakening and insomnia, may be a normal result of combat experience and not specifically related to PTSD or TBI.

However, the sleep study participants did not have a higher rate of OSA than non-veteran sleep clinic participants, calling into question the commonly held view that sleep apnea and related sleep disorders are a function of PTSD and TBI. Rather, they appear to be a function of experiencing stress under combat conditions, even if that stress does not rise to the level of PTSD.

As we have written before, OSA is an increasingly approved rating by VA. You may find the article on the study of interest.

http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Research_270/Sleep_Disruptions_May_Be_a_Function_of_Combat_Not_Specific_to_PTSD_or_Other_Medical_Disorders.shtml

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

Have you noticed that when the national press talks about the cost of war it ignores the medical costs associated with the military and veterans? The VA budget is a reminder of the prolonged cost of war. A recent analysis of the DOD budget also drives this home.

Costs of the program that provides health coverage to some 10 million active duty personnel, retirees, reservists and their families have jumped from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in the Pentagon’s latest budget request. These costs are driving the President to suggest that veterans and those using TRICARE pay more for their health care. The Detroit News reports: “After years of resisting proposed increases for the military men and women who sacrificed for a nation, budget-conscious lawmakers suddenly are poised to make them pay a bit more for their health care.”

The current TRICARE fees, unchanged in 11 years, are just $230 a year for an individual and $460 for a family. That’s far less than what civilian federal workers pay for health care, about $5,000 a year. If this increase is passed on to retirees, you should expect pressure on VA to continue to raise the costs passed on to veterans.

We will have to remind Washington that the veterans are a unique group that gave the country the best years of their lives and should not now be asked to again bear the burdens of the country. Those who have never sacrificed for the country should do more – not the retirees and veterans.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110509/NATION/105090339/Health-care-for-military-reaches-$53-billion#ixzz1Lsxqplu5

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 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 Kristina Derro

A recent decision by the Court, on one of our client’s claims, stressed the importance that VA must get a medical opinion before it summarily declined to refer an issue for extraschedular consideration for unemployability. Our client worked as an accountant, handling his clients’ taxes. He was forced to stop working because his hearing loss was so debilitating that he was prevented from talking with and understanding his clients. Fearing that he would accidentally submit something erroneous to the IRS because he did not hear his clients correctly, he stopped working. VA refused to refer our client’s claim for consideration for unemployability because it determined that the Veteran could still perform the physical and mental acts required by being an accountant, he just could not hear and understand his clients.

After we submitted our legal argument, the Court determined that the VA was wrong by not referring the case to a physician to make a determination on the effect the Veteran’s hearing loss had on his ability to remain employed. The Court chastised VA for using its own unsubstantiated opinion, and not relying on independent medical evidence from a physician on the topic. After all, one can reason that if the Veteran could not hear his clients, he would be unable to hear and understand any other employer as well.

by Jim Fausone

There is no way the VA is going to be able to help every veteran in every situation.  I think it is important that Veteran Service Organizations (VSO), veteran business owners and veteran centric groups step up and help out.  This requires a local effort of neighbors helping neighbors.   Stop worrying about VA getting it right and jump in and help.

VA recently denied a housing grant to assist a disabled veteran build a garage.  We belong to a group that handles these types of requests.  Our volunteers can go to the house and confirm the request and then work with people to get the job done and supply funding.  We have also found many times people were trying to scam the system.  If you live in Boston or are with a local Boston VSO maybe this is a relevant project to take on.  

Read about this vet and his need for a garage: 

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1296658

by Jim Fausone

Tinnitus, commonly known as ringing in the ears, is a major health issue for soldiers returning from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.  It is also a major and common disability for those from Vietnam combat. The condition was the most-claimed service-connected disability for veterans receiving compensation in fiscal year 2009-10, according to the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.  

The audiology clinic at the Phoenix veterans hospital has added staff and extended hours. The hospital will launch a national tinnitus program called Progressive Tinnitus Management to help veterans with the disorder.  Audiologists and mental-health professionals will work together to help veterans manage their reaction to tinnitus. The VA has been developing the program for five years using research literature, textbooks and clinical experience.  We can only hope that the results are sufficient to roll out the program nationally. 

Read more about this program at:  

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/2906270,CST-WS-ears19.article

by Kristina Derro

Many individuals have previously filed claims for disabilities that have recently been added as presumptive diseases for Agent Orange exposure. As a result of Nehmer, these individuals can have their previous claims reinstated and adjudicated. The VA is doing just that—hundreds of thousands of previously denied cases have been reopened and are in the process of being adjudicated.

Word from VA is that the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has instructed it to process these claims first, prior to adjudicating other claims. Therefore, we have been receiving word from local Regional Offices that the normal “slow” process at VA has been slowed even further because the VA has been focusing on these Nehmer claims and not working on the other claims.

Word of advice: prepare for a long wait at VA!

by Jim Fausone

VA announced  that on November 1st it has finally started making payments under the new AO rules. Providing initial payments – or increases to existing payments – to the 200,000 Veterans who now qualify for disability compensation is expected to take several months.  The three new presumptive diseases which have been in the press all year are:  B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease. 

To read more about the VA’s efforts in this area read http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1991