Legal Help for Veterans blog.
News and Press, PTSD
By Jim Fausone Veterans Disability Attorney The number of troops that return with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), can range as high as 30% of the force in combat. Some veterans suffer mild PTSD and with counseling and support can get past it. Many others are debilitated by the effects of war and post-traumatic stress. A Chicago based […]
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News and Press, PTSD
by Kristina Derro Veterans Disability Lawyer The staff at Legal Help for Veterans had some phenomenal visitors this past week! Members of Stiggy’s Dogs came to visit! Stiggy’s Dogs was created in memory of Benjamin Phillip (“Doc Stiggy”) Castiglione, a Marine who dedicated his life to preserving and improving the physical and emotional health of […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
by Jim Fausone Veterans Disability Lawyer The research continues on veterans and sleep apnea. A study presented in May 2011 at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting suggests that sleep disturbances like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), excessive awakening and insomnia, may be a normal result of combat experience and not specifically related to PTSD or TBI. However, […]
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PTSD
by Jim Fausone Veteran Disability Lawyer I knew it was coming. VA now has an app for that. It recently announced an app for PTSD. The government application for smart phones is called “PTSD Coach” and users can track their PTSD symptoms, links them with local sources of support, provides accurate information about PTSD, and teaches helpful […]
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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, 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, 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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Claims Processing, PTSD, Veterans Law
by Jim Fausone As many VA watchers know, VA adopted a new law “Relaxation of Evidentiary Standard for Establishing In Service Stressors in Claims for PTSD” dated July 13, 2010. We at Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC have received the first rating decision taking this law into account. The VA conceded the Vietnam Vet’s stressor […]
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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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