Many veterans who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm are suffering from a range of physical disabilities, chronic ailments, and unexplained illnesses which may be due to an “undiagnosed illness.” Thousands of veterans who served in the Gulf War have come down with a pattern of symptoms that include rashes, joint and muscle…
You can obtain information from the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee page at https://veterans.senate.gov/ At that page, click on the tab that says “VA Benefits Claims Process.” That provides information on the process itself, as well as information about the Senators who serve on the Veterans Affairs Committee and how to contact them for assistance. The…
In a previous blog posting I discussed evidence in veterans cases, including a feature unique to this system, the rule that if evidence is approximately balanced on any given point, the veteran claimant is supposed to be given the benefit of the doubt. In actual practice this favorable rule is not applied because VA determines…
The National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA) fall conference is scheduled to take place on November 5,6 and 7, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The conference includes a one day seminar for practitioners who are new to the area of veterans’ law on Thursday, November 5 and a two day general seminar for more advanced…
In a previous blog posting I discussed evidence in general and the benefit-of-the-doubt rule. I also mentioned the three essential facts that must be proven in a service-connection claim: that there was an injury or first manifestation of disease in service, there is a current disability, and the disability is causally related to the event…
Many veterans pursuing a claim for VA benefits have already been granted Social Security Benefits or are pursuing Social Security benefits for the same disability. A common belief among veterans is that VA should make the same conclusions and/or decision as the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). For instance, many veterans believe that because SSA found…
The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association are jointly sponsoring a Moot Court competition to be held October 14 and 15, 2009, in connection with the Court’s 20th anniversary. Fourteen teams from the following universities will participate: Washington College of Law, American University Boston University…
VA announced on October 13, 2009, that it will add three more illnesses to the “presumptive list” of Agent Orange related diseases: Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia, and ischemic heart disease. In practical effect, this means that a service person who served in Vietnam during the war and has one…
“Evidence” is a subject law students devote considerable effort in studying, and it can present complexities even to the best legal minds. But it is quite possible and useful to understand the basic concepts as they relate to the veterans claims system, which is in some ways unique in this regard. You will have a…
One of the most common complaints we hear is that it appears that VA took away part of a veteran’s service connected disability compensation benefits when it granted an award. That is VA awarded an increased disability rating, but the overall compensation did not change, or the disability ratings assigned, do not “add up” correctly. So…
We frequently hear complaints from our clients that VA is taking a long time to render a decision on a claim for VA benefits. Given the enormous backlog and understaffing from which VA suffers, this is to be expected. In fact, delay is inherent in the VA system. After a claim is filed, VA must…
PTSD is a psychiatric condition where a traumatic event occurs (called a “stressor”), and later (sometimes many years later), the veteran experiences symptoms related to that event. These symptoms can include nightmares, flashbacks, guilty feelings, an increased startle response, social isolation, and difficulty with authority figures, to name a few. Normally, when a veteran seeks…
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Results afford no guarantee of future results and every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
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