You Counted on Their Promise to Pay. Make Them Keep It.
We Have Been Making Them Keep Their Promises for 30 Years
As veterans’ benefits lawyers, we represent TDIU claims on behalf of disabled veterans who cannot work. Many military men and women go overseas with hopes and plans for their futures and careers. Yet too many come home vastly changed. Due to injuries, exposures and diseases sustained during active service, countless veterans return home with no …
With recent changes to the law, here is what you need to know about Camp Lejeune presumptive conditions – from fast track disability decisions to appeals. VA currently offers two separate benefits to all qualifying veterans, and certain family members, who served at Camp Lejeune for no less than 30 days (cumulative) from 1953 through …
This week the Department of Veterans Affairs launches its new, revamped appeals process for veterans disputing their disability claims decisions. The new law is called the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017; or in shortened form, Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). Passed into law in 2017, the Act intends to reform the unacceptable wait …
Jan. 29, 2019: A landmark court decision should prompt past due benefits for countless blue water veterans. Vietnam War-era troops who served in the “blue waters” off Vietnam now qualify for the presumption of exposure to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange. In Procopio v. Wilkie, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled …
The purchase of an executive disability insurance policy is one of the most important parts of a secure financial plan for high salaried professionals. Individual disability income insurance (IDI) is costly, and is actively marketed to corporate executives, financial analysts, sales executives, physicians, dentists, architects, stock brokers, attorneys and others who seek financial security and …
Was your claim for PTSD sexual trauma denied in the past? VA now supports reapplication of previously denied disability claims for these types of cases. VA has acknowledged that errors were made in its decisions on many of these claims and has agreed to launch a review of denied benefits for PTSD related to military sexual trauma (MST).
A study has found that even after 40+ years, close to 11 percent of Vietnam veterans still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and it seems that many more of them are gradually getting worse rather than getting better.
Dr. Charles Marmar, chairman of the psychiatry department at New York University Langone Medical Center and director of the NYU Cohen Veterans Center, is one of the authors of this study and confirms, “Most people who serve in war are resilient.” He goes on to explain that among those that do develop post-traumatic stress disorder, “if they’re going to recover, they’re going to recover early on”.
On July 20, 2015, Congress approved the Veterans Identification Card Act. This federal bill offers all honorably discharged service members a Veterans ID card that, in theory, should make it easier for veterans to prove their military service.
This ID card measure was on the books for several years. It had originally passed through the Senate and the House without much opposition but Congress proved a more formidable opponent. When the Obama administration voiced their reservation regarding the actual need for new ID’s Congress sat on the measure for several years. With approval finally being handed down from Congress, the measure headed to the White House to be signed into law.
In an effort to help those veterans who may have been waiting years for their VA benefits, many of those in Congress support recent legislation to fire the so called “bad apples “at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Even though those supporting this legislation may have the best of intentions, the mass firing of VA employees may do more harm than good to improve the care provided to veterans.
Over the last few years, it has become abundantly clear that our government needs to deal more effectively with employees of the VA who are failing at their jobs or violating the best interest of their clients. But even with an expedited firing of many federal employees, a third of which are veterans themselves, the fundamental problem remains; the VA sorely needs management reforms.
When it comes to the Veterans Affairs 100 percent disability ratings, things can be confusing. Veterans can find it difficult to determine whether or not they can work if they are rated at 100%. To better understand which 100 % rating is best for you, let’s consider the types of 100 percent disability ratings that the VA uses to determine if a Veteran can return to work or not.
