Most Recent Blog Posts
UPDATE: COVID, Coronavirus and VA claims and appeals deadlines
More to follow on this document....for right now, I wanted to just get it out there to ya'll. If you missed - or may miss - certain types of VA deadlines in your claims and appeals due to COVID or coronavirus, this document addresses how the VA will handle those...
SMC-T: VA Disability Special Monthly Compensation for some veterans with a TBI.
benefit of the What is SMC? To understand SMC T, you must first understand VA Special monthly compensation (SMC). To understand SMC, you must understand the basic principle behind the rating aspect of a VA disability claim. Typically, when your condition is "rated" -...
Does systemic white supremacy affect a Black veterans ability to service connect PTSD?
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The Bridge
This article was written by Yalitza Ledgister of the law firm of Attig | Curran | Steel, PLLC (I'm told a link to Yalitza's bio is coming soon). In mid June 2020, I promised that, in an effort to take a step towards ending the systematic oppression of Black veterans,...
Are you using a Vocational Expert in your VA TDIU and Social Security Disability claims?
If you are a veteran filing a TDIU claim or appeal, a Vocational Expert is a powerful ally who can help to explain to the VA, in their language, how and why you are unable to get and keep substantially gainful employment, and how an expert can help in your VA TDIU...
“I am a Black man who jogs.”
"I am a Black man who jogs" was written by Augustus Turner. Mr. Turner retains all copyright to the image and content; it is republished here with his permission. You can - and SHOULD - read his essays on his website "The Venerable Voice." This post was originally...
How to maximize a veteran’s COPD VA disability rating.
In this post, I hope to take some of the mystery out of how a veteran is assigned a COPD VA disability rating. What is COPD? COPD is shorthand for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It is a lung disease that is characterized by a chronic obstructive of airflow in...
There is a racism problem in the Veterans Community (and what I intend to do about it).
If you have been following the Veterans Law Blog® facebook page for the last 2 weeks, you will have seen daily posts covering Black history, civil rights history, and the experiences of Black veterans in America. "This doesn't have anything to do with Veterans Law,"...