Legal Help for Veterans blog.
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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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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Claims Processing, News and Press, Veterans Law
The Department of Veterans Affairs picked up another notch on their belt of scandals and mishaps earlier this month. USA Today recently reported that the VA has not publicly released the findings of 140 health care investigations going back to 2006. And so more problems for our veterans continued to fester without proper oversight, leaving […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press, Veterans Law
After several reports on the horrendous customer service of the Department of Veterans Affairs toward veterans in 2014, the VA is now celebrating some “good news” on that front for 2015: VA officials have settled on a single map of the United States. Pop the Champagne for bureaucratic progress! It should be noted, the Department […]
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Claims Processing, Medical Issues / Disability, Mental Health
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced in early December that it would expand eligibility for veterans in need of mental health care due to sexual assault or sexual harassment that occurred during their military service. This expansion comes under the authority from the recent VACAA legislation (Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014). […]
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Claims Processing, Medical Issues / Disability, Mental Health, PTSD
Veterans looking for an upgrade to their punitive discharges related to behavior problems caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can find assistance at a new website: https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/adrb-ptsd.cfm This initiative follows a recent directive to the Army’s Review Board Agency (ARBA) to help those veterans whose discharges were under “other than honorable” conditions, and who assert that […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press, Veterans Law
In August, President Obama signed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. The act seeks to provide a number of remedies to problems uncovered earlier this year within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including wait times for and inadequate access to health care. The cornerstone of the act is the requirement that VA facilities […]
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Claims Processing, Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will begin covering out-of-pocket health care expenses for Marine dependents who fell victim to cancer and other illnesses from toxic water at Camp Lejeune, NC. The relief is long-overdue, as victims were promised coverage for their health care costs two years ago when Congress passed the […]
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Claims Processing, PTSD, Veterans Law
Veterans may not realize that they do not need new evidence in order to resubmit a previously denied claim for PTSD benefits related to military sexual trauma (MST), according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report also claims evidence that an overwhelming number of veterans who are aware of […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs continues its parade of poor decisions and bad ideas with their most recent slideshow shown to VA employees, which depicts veterans as Oscar the Grouch, the character from Sesame Street. Perhaps the VA needs to bring in Oscar the Grouch’s Sesame Street neighbor, Count von Count, to give themselves a […]
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