Author: seth-old

On October 26, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CVAC) issued an opinion in Jones v. Shinseki.  The CAVC remanded, in part, because the Board of Veterans’ Appeal improperly considered the effect of medication on a veteran’s disability rating for irratable bowel syndrome. While the opinion specifically address the rating criteria under 38 C.F.R. § 4.114, DC 7319...

Countless veterans have encountered unfavorable VA rating decisions because a VA medical examiner issued an opinion that the etiology (cause of the condition or disease) of a claimed disability was not service connected. This is particularly true for claims related to the Camp Lejeune water contamination or conditions related to Agent Orange exposure that are not entitled to the statutory...

In May 1776, General Nathanael Greene wrote to John Adams concerning support for veterans: “If Congress was to fix a certain Support upon every Officer and Soldier that got maim’d in the Service or upon the families of those that were hild it would have happy an influence towards engageing people in the Service and inspire those engaged with as much courage as any measure that can...

There has been much debate regarding the rationale behind the increase in the VA backlog. An article from the Federal Times opines that the increase, at least in part, is due to the complicated nature of recent Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans claims. Without commenting on the conclusions of the article regarding the backlog, it does highlight the need for Veterans to be aggressive in advocating...

In the past few years, the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and society have begun to acknowledge the increasing need to provide mental health services for returning combat Veterans. This is evidenced by the changes to Title 48 covering post-traumatic stress disorder for disability compensation, as well as changes to the VA healthcare system. In concert with this, the...

On August 24, 2012, The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CVAC) issued an en banc order in Tyrues v. Shinseki on remand from the Federal Circuit for reconsideration in light of Henderson v. Shinseki,131 S.Ct. 1197, 1206 (2011) (Supreme Court held that the 120–day limit to file an NOA pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7266(a)—although an important procedural rule — was not jurisdictional.). As is...

There has been a tremendous amount of press coverage recently regarding the backlog of claims pending before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The most recent data indicates there are approximately 900,000 claims pending, and more that 55% have been pending more than 125 days. The linked press release from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs documents the some of the policy initiatives...

Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs released two free mobile applications to assist those Veterans suffering from PTSD. The application is intended work as companions to assisting therapy and medical treatment. The free applications can be downloaded at http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/pecoach_mobileapp-public.asp and http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/ptsdcoach.asp

On August 17, 2012, The Federal Circuit issued an opinion in Hillyard v. Shinseki upholding the validity of limiting a claimant to one CUE motion on a prior final Board of Veteran Appeals decision. The decision can be accessed at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/images/stories/opinions-orders/11-7157.pdf. CUE claims are an important vehicle for Veterans to address matters already subject to a...

In the course of speaking with Veterans, it is apparent that many Veterans are unaware of various State benefits available to them. In addition to federal benefits for Veterans, most states offer a variety of programs for Veterans and their families. These benefits include scholarships, vocational programs, tax exemptions, nursing home care for elderly and disabled Veterans, and more. The...