Legal Help for Veterans blog.
News and Press
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has its fourth leader in five years after President Donald Trump swore in Robert Wilkie July 30. The Senate confirmed Wilkie, who most recently served as the VA’s acting secretary, with a vote of 86 to 9. Veterans groups like The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars […]
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News and Press
For 25 years, a computer glitch at the Department of Defense taxed non-taxable disability severance payments, resulting in hundreds of thousands of veterans overpaying their taxes. The disability payments to veterans injured in combat are tax-free. However, the Defense Department’s automated payment system did not distinguish those payments from taxable income between 1991 and 2016 […]
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PTSD
The great outdoors can make an impact on those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to recent research from UC Berkeley psychologists. The studies tracked psychological and physiological changes in military veterans’ and at-risk inner-city youths’ stress hormones and markers of immune function before and after white-water rafting trips. The findings, published in the journal […]
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News and Press, Veterans Law
Jim Fausone, Esq. Until now, domestic violence and assault have both been categorized as the same crime, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This month President Trump signed the Annual Defense Authorization Act into law. This act included a 2.6 percent pay raise for troops, but also classified Domestic Violence a separate crime […]
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News and Press
If you ask a service member what keeps them going on a morning without much sleep or a late guard shift, you might expect to get an answer like “Sense of Duty” or “Motivation.” The popular answer, however, is generally coffee. Coffee has been an integral part of the United States Military since before the […]
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News and Press
During a Senate confirmation hearing, Robert Wilkie, the nominee to head the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), testified he is against the privatization of VA care and pledged to better integrate outside health systems. Wilkie, who most recently served as the VA’s acting secretary, said if he is confirmed to lead the expansive federal […]
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News and Press
Suffering any level of traumatic brain injury – mild, moderate or severe – may make a person more susceptible to developing Parkinson’s disease, new research shows. According to the study, published in Neurology, the American Academy of Neurology’s medical journal, after a mild injury, often a concussion, the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease increased 56 […]
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News and Press
President Donald Trump selected Robert Wilkie, the acting secretary of veterans affairs, as his nominee to head the expansive federal agency. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not had a permanent secretary since March when Trump fired David Shulkin, the VA’s previous leader. Trump then nominated Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, […]
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News and Press
Based on surveys administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, two veteran homes, located in Grand Rapids and Marquette, managed by the state of Michigan met all 231 standards for nursing home and domiciliary care. The distinction, a first for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, comes two years after an audit panned the […]
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News and Press
Implementation of a 2018 law that gave veterans who had an other-than-honorable discharge from the military mental health benefits has been largely mishandled by the Department of Veterans Affairs. An expansion of a VA program that granted certain veterans with other-than-honorable discharges acute healthcare benefits during a crisis gives them eligibility for ongoing mental health […]
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