Legal Help for Veterans blog.
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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Medical Issues / Disability, Mental Health, News and Press, PTSD, Veterans Law
There are two important points here: (1) you are entitled to a Purple Heart if you suffered a TBI as a result of enemy action and (2) because Purple Heart status entitles you to special treatment by VA, it is important to receive the Purple Heart. Military Uniform Regulations currently call for awarding Purple Heart […]
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Claims Processing, Mental Health, PTSD
by Jim Fausone Veteran Disability Attorney Once again showing the differences between men and women in combat, VA recently reported that women appear more susceptible to depression than PTSD. The study looked at 246,976 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and 246,080 who served elsewhere. Among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, about […]
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Mental Health, News and Press, PTSD
by Jim Fausone Veterans Lawyer A new study may be of help to veterans when making their PTSD claim. Female veterans who become pregnant may be at more risk for mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, a study finds. VA commissioned a 5 year study. Among the study participants, 32% […]
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Mental Health, News and Press
by Jim Fausone, Veteran Attorney The first large scale study of female veterans found that female veterans — age 18 to 34 — are three times as likely as their civilian peers to die by suicide. Veterans make up 20% of the people who commit suicide in the country. However veterans only make up 12 % of the population. […]
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Mental Health, PTSD
by Jim Fausone The VA often funds research that is helpful in understanding complex medical conditions. VA and Stanford University completed a large study that shows that among younger veterans enrolled in VA health care, those with a mental health condition—especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—tend to have more physical ailments. The results, published online Sept. 18 in […]
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Mental Health, PTSD
by Jim Fausone The rash of suicides this year that involve members of the military has been getting plenty of attention. Veterans face the same suicide problem brought on by the stress of war. Military veterans with psychiatric illnesses are at increased risk for suicide, says a new study by the University of Michigan in conjunction with US Department of […]
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Mental Health, PTSD, Veterans Law
by Jim Fausone The story is not that unusual – a service member suffering from psychological problems starts to self medicate, gets kicked out of the service and loses access to VA benefits. Veterans advocates see cynical forces at play in the use of administrative discharges for reasons including misconduct, personality disorder and adjustment disorder — defined as […]
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Mental Health, News and Press, PTSD, Veterans Law
by Jim Fausone We see soldiers discharged for or diagnosed with “personality disorder” all too often in our veteran disability practice. As a result, the veteran is not going to receive VA benefits. Personality disorder is a “preexisting condition” so there will be no grant of VA disability compensation. After an article in The Nation […]
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Mental Health, News and Press
By Kristina Derro An article published in “USA Today” reviewed the recent findings from an Army study. https://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-07-29-army-suicides_N.htm?POE=click-refer The study found that in 2009, 160 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, 146 more died during “risky activity” such as drug use, and 1,713 soldiers attempted suicide. The study found that a record high number of suicides are […]
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