Author: seth-old

Last week, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals released its 2014 Annual Report.  The report can be accessed at the following link BVA 2014 Annual Report. Statistically, the Board has seen a steady increase in the number of appeals filed since fiscal year 2011.  The Board also anticipates an increase in the number of appeals in fiscal year 2015.  The Board documents a significant increase in...

I previous blogs, we have written about the regulations governing what is now called Gulf War Illness (GWI).  As prescribed in regulation, the terms of art “undiagnosed illness” and “medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness (MUCMI)” are little understood and difficult for veterans and physicians to understand.  In handling claims involving exposure to...

A few days ago, the VA’s own blog, VAndage Point, published a retrospective article concerning the infamous 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis.  The article can be access at http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/22133/the-nprc-records-fire-of-1973/. As the article explains, the fire “destroy 80 percent of Army personnel records for soldiers discharged...

As we have previously blogged about, there are special rules for effective dates of award that may apply to veterans with service in Vietnam (colloquially referred to as “boots on ground”) for presumptive conditions related to Agent Orange listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).  The rules are encompassed within 38 C.F.R. § 3.816 (regulation concerning effective dates of award under the...

Over the years, I have commented how the informal process of “reconsideration” of an initial VA Rating Decision simply does not exist in regulation or statute.  I previously commented, “This practice has permeated through some of the Regional Offices  . . . but with no predicate in law and, therefore, little protection for the veteran.” While the notion of...

On August 3, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a press release entitled, “VA Expands Review of Chemical Exposure in Drinking Water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.”  The link to the press release can be located at http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2720. In short, the VA is considering adding three conditions as presumptive for service at Camp...

As the following June 22, 2015 news article documents, Vietnam veteran Conley Monk’s discharge was upgraded from a Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge to a General Under Honorable Condition (General) by the Board for Correction of Naval Records .  It appears four other Vietnam veterans were granted similar upgrades.  The article can be accessed at Hartford Courant. As we have previously...

In previous blogs, I had commented on Yale Veterans Clinic’s Petition for Mandamus and Request for Aggregate Relief/Class Action Status in Monk v. McDonald.  Our prior blog can be accessed at Monk v. McDonald.  The petition had picked up significant media coverage because it concerned the excessive delay in adjudicating claims subject to appeal before the Department of Veterans Affairs...

Every once in a while a general interest story about veterans hits the news and causes me to pause and reflect . . . in a good way.  Last year, it was a historical account of the daughter of a civil war veteran who still receives a small pension for her father’s service by the Wall Street Journal. Today, its a Washington Post Article about America’s oldest living veteran, Richard...

On April 23, 2015, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claim (CAVC) remanded, in pertinent part, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision denying service connection for conditions related to TCDD (Agent Orange) exposure for Mr. Gray a Vietnam-era veteran.  I don’t want to give away the end of the movie, but the question of whether Mr. Gray is a veteran with service in Vietnam under...