If you are a veteran diagnosed with sleep apnea, you may be eligible for VA disability benefits. You may also be one of thousands of servicemen and women frustrated with their service-connected sleep apnea claims and the VA benefits system. And it’s no wonder, as these claims are often denied by VA. Service connection can […]
New VA Appeals System Begins! Veterans Have New Options to Appeal
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 […]
Dos and Don’ts of a C&P Exam
You’ve applied for disability benefits, and now VA sends you for one or more medical evaluations known as Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams. A favorable C&P exam is important because your disability rating will be a direct outcome of the VA examiner’s findings. With so much riding on the results, how can you set yourself […]
Why is a C&P Exam Important to Your VA Disability claim? (Update 2023)
A Compensation and Pension exam can be the difference between an award and a denial. It can mean the difference between a 10% rating and a 60% or greater rating. It is a final discovery and assessment of evidence proving you are disabled due to your military service. In this light, the C&P exam is […]
How to Prepare for a C&P Exam?
When you file a claim for Veterans’ disability compensation, the next step is usually for the VA to schedule one or more Compensation and Pension exams, a.k.a. “C&P exams” or “claims exams.” This is part of the VA’s information gathering phase. These exams carry a lot of weight in VA’s assessment of your service-connected disability […]
Vietnam Blue Water Veterans Now Have Agent Orange Presumption!
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 […]
Veterans Denied PTSD Sexual Trauma Benefits Are Now Encouraged to Re-Apply
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).
Vietnam Veterans – New Study Shows PTSD Symptoms Worsen Over Time
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”.
Veterans ID Card System – Approved by Congress, Possible 2017 Rollout
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.
Firing VA Employees in Haste Does Not Help Veterans or their Disability Claims
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.