Legal Help for Veterans blog.
Claims Processing, News and Press
The deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics at the Department of Veterans Affairs stated on May 14 that the VA has been improperly spending at least $5 billion annually on medical care and supplies while not following mandated competitive bidding and written contracts. The deputy assistant secretary, Jan Frye, said that “gross mismanagement” by […]
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Employment, News and Press
Legislation to help veterans returning home receive information about employment and benefits available to them was passed by the Michigan House of Representatives on May 12 and has gone to the governor for consideration. Michigan governor Rick Snyder will look at the bill sponsored by Senator Jim Stamas, R-Midland. If approved, the legislation will assign […]
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News and Press
Last month, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Inspector General John Daigh released over 120 previously unpublished investigations by the VA’s inspector general revealing continued mismanagement, corruption, and underperformance of the VA medical centers as far back as 2006. Only after Daigh faced sharp criticism and claims of “hiding” investigation results, did he decide to […]
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Employment
Macy’s department store is fundraising for “Got Your 6,” a national veteran campaign that will distribute money to charities with the goal of providing veterans with jobs, college programs and other opportunities to help them engage with their communities. Macy’s customers are donating $3 at the store’s cash registers in return for a 15 to […]
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Employment, News and Press
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has assigned two vocational rehabilitation counselors to offer their services to veterans in colleges and universities around Michigan. Student veterans have access to expert advice from the VA about the best ways in which to use the benefits that are available to them. The counselors provide assistance on a […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press, Veterans Law
Nearly 100 veterans and their family members attended a community forum last week to get information on the effects of exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. From the 1950s to 1987, some 750,000 people were exposed to polluted drinking water, which contained harmful chemicals from spills, a dump site on the […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press
A four year battle with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over whether Air Force Reservists who flew C-123 planes should get Agent Orange benefits is almost at an end. We have written previously on the inexplicable delays these reservists have experienced. But now, the waiting game is almost over as VA Secretary Robert McDonald […]
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News and Press
It has almost been one year since we last posted on Amir Hekmati, a Marine Veteran and Flint, MI resident, when he was approaching 1,000 days of imprisonment in Iran. Now, nearly 365 days later, Hekmati remains in captivity. The U.S. Senate called on Iran to immediately release the Marine veteran in a unanimously passed […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press, Veterans Law
Kristina Derro Veteran Advocate The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) filed a join lawsuit on May 6 against the VA to force it to change its submission procedure for new claims. The procedure, says the VFW, was created solely to benefit the VA and not veterans. The primary issue […]
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News and Press
Daniel J. Williams, Esq. In August of 2014, the Michigan Court of Appeals found that the governmental immunity protections provided in M.C.L. §691.1407(1) did not apply to state-run veterans homes, where the underlying claim was sounded from the medical care or medical treatment of the moving party Estate of Andrew Ball v. Grand Rapids Home […]
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