Legal Help for Veterans blog.
PTSD
Despite increasing calls to do so, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs does not cover any costs associated with service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The agency has conducted research on whether service dogs are an effective treatment for PTSD, but has not released any of its findings, and has delayed doing so several […]
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News and Press
A group of veterans who claim that they have been denied their rightful benefits have added more plaintiffs to the $500 million lawsuit against the Department of Defense they filed in August. There are 18 total veterans involved in the lawsuit so far. The group is suing the secretaries of the United States Army, Navy, […]
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Medical Issues / Disability
Many veterans know from experience that there can be extremely long wait times when waiting for a decision on a disability claim from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Currently, tens of thousands of men and women are waiting while their claims move through the VA’s processes. One North Carolina man, Pete Lambert, waited nine years […]
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News and Press
A Marine veteran who served two tours in Iraq faces deportation to El Salvador, from which he emigrated when he was three years old. Jose Segovia Benitez was a legal permanent resident when he enlisted in the Marines and served for five years before he was honorably discharged in 2004. While in Iraq, Benitez suffered […]
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News and Press
A new report from the Office of the Inspector General determined that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mishandled sensitive data about veterans and potentially left them vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. Personal information about veterans were stored on two shared network drives and could have been remotely accessible by anyone with authorization to […]
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News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs recently embraced the use of video games in therapies for disabled veterans suffering from a variety of physical, mental and emotional problems. The VA has partnered with Microsoft to develop specially made adaptive controllers which allow those with limited mobility a way to more comfortably play video games. Gaming will […]
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PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder could be “contagious.” Although it is not transmitted via shared fluids, research shows that those who care for or regularly interact with a person who has experienced trauma are potentially at risk of developing secondhand PTSD. Although they did not experience or witness the trauma themselves, being in close contact with the […]
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News and Press
A medical malpractice lawsuit against a U.S. Naval hospital brought about by a Virginia couple whose son sustained serious injuries during birth has been settled by the federal government. The couple will receive $11.5 million for the care of their son, who is now five years old. The couple were both Naval officers and were […]
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News and Press
Findings from a study conducted by Pew Research Center showed that combat veterans who served in the military after the September 11th terrorist attacks reported benefiting financially from their service more than those who served before 9/11. Sixty-eight percent of the post-9/11 veterans reported that being deployed in the military had a positive impact on […]
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News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is implementing several highly anticipated changes to modernize its systems and processes and increase efficiency for the veterans it serves. The agency will soon have updated the rating schedule, modernized the appeals process, implemented an electronic health records system and streamlined the materiel acquisition process. Rating Schedule Update The […]
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