Most Recent Blog Posts
2 Times Veterans Should Argue for an Earlier Effective Date.
Here are 2 times that Veterans should consider arguing for an Earlier Effective Date so that they maximize past-due benefits payments from the VA.
Service Connected Sleep Apnea: it Ain’t a Scam…it’s a Typhoon headed for the Veterans Community.
If someone tells you that Service Connected Sleep Apnea is a “scam”….here’s how to show them it is really a typhoon heading straight towards the Veterans Community.
5 Steps to VA Benefits for Survivors of Thailand Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange….
The VA – and a lot of VSOs – like to pretend that there are no VA Benefits for Survivors of Thailand Veterans during the Vietnam era. They are flat wrong.
The VA Disability Rating Tables…..Sometimes, They Just Stink.
In the Buczynski case, the issue really came down to this: “Does the Veteran’s skin condition smell so bad that nobody wants to work in the cubicle next to him?”
What we got, however, was a great insight into when – and how – a Veteran might appeal a BVA interpretation of a VA Disability Rating table that just isn’t correct.
Subscribe or login to learn the 3 take-away points from the Buczynski case… .
The VA Tort Claim – Some Very Basic Info.
I want to line out some basic facts about VA Tort claims – and their Title 38 “cousin”, the Section 1151 claim.
Here’s how it works.
Veterans may be able to service-connect injuries (and their surviving spouses may be able to obtain DIC for a death) caused by treatment in the VA healthcare system.
At the same time, they may also be able to sue the VA doctors or employees that caused the injury under “tort” law.
In this post, I’ll talk about some of the similarities and differences – just the basics – of the so-called VA Tort Claim.
In a VA Disability Claim, can your medications reduce the rating the VA gives you?
There are some raters at the VA that act like THEY are having to pay your benefits out of their paycheck.
These raters will commonly lower a Veteran’s disability impairment rating in a VA Disability claim for service connection of an injury or disease resulting from military service, but is getting treatment for that condition.
There is a group of raters who believe that PTSD is cured when you get treatment, that you aren’t disabled if you are taking insulin for diabetes, or that sleep apnea is gone once you start using a CPAP.
The problem is, a lot of Veterans believe them, because it sounds pretty reasonable.
However, the law is not always written this way – and sometimes, for good reason.
PTSD is not cured.
Sleep Apnea rarely goes away.
It is hard to reverse diabetes once your kidneys start to fail.
In this post, I will explain when the VA can – and when they cannot – reduce your VA Disability rating because you are taking medication for the symptoms of the condition… .
Which is faster: LA Traffic or an Appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals?
Each year the Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) publishes an annual report to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The report covers a great many topics, but most interesting to most veterans is the summary of the BVA timeline for the processing of the appeal.
Here are some of my observations after looking at the reports from 2007 – 2014. I’m going to tell you:
* Which kind of representation is – statistically speaking – going to be the most likely to win or lose your case at the BVA
* I’m going to show you the single greatest reason for the delay in the BVA Appeal process – and what the VA is telling us about it.
* I’ll show you how some of the BVA numbers just don’t add up… .
Another Tool: The Writ of Mandamus in VA Claims.
The VA takes forever to act….nothing new there.
Will Congress help? I doubt it…they are like nipples on a man….we’d look weird without them, but they are virtually useless.
So What about the Veterans Court? What role might they play in holding the VA Accountable?
Read About the Writ of Mandamus – one way the Courts might help…
