Legal Help for Veterans blog.
News and Press, PTSD
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer The staff at Legal Help for Veterans had some phenomenal visitors this past week! Members of Stiggy’s Dogs came to visit! Stiggy’s Dogs was created in memory of Benjamin Phillip (“Doc Stiggy”) Castiglione, a Marine who dedicated his life to preserving and improving the physical and emotional health of […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
by Jim Fausone Veteran Disability Lawyer We hear from a lot of veterans with Hepatitis C which they believe was contracted in the military. Many guys feel that the air gun innoculations they received in basic training were the start of the Hep C. Up to 10% of all veterans in the VHA system tested positive […]
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Employment, News and Press
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Attorney On May 25, 2011, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Honoring All Veterans Act of 2011, which seeks to improve aid and services to veterans in the areas of employment, housing, education, and health care. The Act aims at aiding veterans who are seeking education and employment by increasing […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer This month, the VA’s Office of Inspector General released its report on the systemic issues identified at 16 VA Regional Offices (VAROs) from April 2009 to September 2010. You can view the full report here: https://www.va.gov/oig/52/reports/2011/VAOIG-11-00510-167.pdf Unfortunately, the report revealed the ineptitude that all the veterans experience and suffer […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
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 […]
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News and Press
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Attorney Sixteen men and women who were raped and assaulted during active service filed a recent lawsuit against the Pentagon. The lawsuit accuses the military of condoning a culture that fails to prosecute the offenders of sex crimes and instead punishes the sexual assault victims who come forward to report […]
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News and Press
By Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer Last week, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit heard oral arguments on a case involving a Colorado man who falsely claimed to be a highly-decorated Marine Corps veteran. He is being tried under the Stolen Valor Act, a piece of legislation passed in 2006 that makes it […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
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, […]
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News and Press
VA Malpractice Data by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer Recent data published by the Project on Government Oversight revealed that VA paid out over a dozen million-dollar malpractice payouts because of either failure on the part of VA to obtain informed consent from its patients or VA’s health care providers failing to timely diagnose and […]
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Claims Processing, Mental Health, Veterans Law
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unleashed its fury on the VA last week in a decision where the judges ruled that the “unchecked incompetence” by the VA had led to poor mental health care and slow processing of disability claims for veterans. Two nonprofit […]
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