For many veterans, their individual or collective disabilities prevent them from working. In these scenarios, the VA can award compensation for total disability ratings based on unemployability of the individual, or TDIU. This is covered by 38 CFR § 4.16, and results in the veteran being paid at the 100% amount. To be awarded TDIU, […]
Veterans Benefit Claims
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals denied the veteran’s claims for entitlement to an increased rating for a right foot condition and a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability. The Veteran hired our office to appeal that denial to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Our office was able to favorably resolve this […]
38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b) / Beraud v. McDonald, 766 F.3d 1402 (Fed. Cir. 2014) / Lang v. Wilkie, 971 F.3d 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2020) 38 C.F.R. 3.156(c) provides that any new and material evidence received prior to the expiration of an appeal period in the legacy system “will be considered as having been filed in […]
President Biden signed the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act on August 10, 2022. The PACT Act is the most significant expansion of benefits for veterans affected by toxic exposure in over thirty years. But what does the PACT Act mean for your claim? There are […]
In the wake of the scandalous revelations of extraordinary wait times and falsification of records at VA Medical Centers, Congress is in the process of considering reform legislation. The principal bill is the House of Representatives’ HR 4810, which would: Direct the VA to enter into contracts for private care to be given to veterans […]
Where a veteran had gone AWOL for a period and then reported back to his unit, his DD Form 214 reflected that he had “lost time” under 10 U.S.C. 972. The Board assumed that this meant that the time could not be counted as active service to qualify him for VA benefits, and without this […]
A recent study published in the journal Environmental Research indicates that military personnel who flew in dioxin-contaminated aircraft used to spray Agent Orange in the Vietnam War (Operation Ranch Hand) may have been exposed to greater levels of dioxin than has previously been recognized. The recent study indicates that the potential for exposure to personnel […]
Effective January 16, 2014, VA has amended 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 to add five illnesses found to secondarily related to traumatic brain injuries. A report by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, entitled “Gulf War and Health, Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury,” found sufficient evidence to link the moderate to […]
As many veterans are aware, there are a special set of regulations that provide for “presumptive service connection” for certain conditions if a veteran was exposed to Agent Orange. This list is important because if a veteran does develop one of the listed condition, even 40 or 50 years after service, and they served on […]
In an attempt to combat the backlog, the VA has recently proposed several changes to the claims process. While the VA’s goal is to decrease the amount of time it takes to process a claim, many view the proposed change as potentially harmful to Veterans. Currently, to file a claim the Veteran need only send […]
