VA Benefits News

On May 3, 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Fed. Cir.) issued an opinion in Parks v. Shinseki and affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veteran Court).  The opinion can be accessed at Parks v. Shinseki. The underlying nature of the claim involves Mr. Parks’ diagnosis of diabetes type II, heart condition, and peripheral neuropathy and whether...

The Veterans Law Review recently published an article on the origins of the modern veterans benefits system, now codified in Title 38.  It is an informative article for those with a vested interest in understanding how a claim before the Department of Veteran Affairs is adjudicated, the often-cited “backlog”, or anyone dealing with statutory/regulatory interpretation. The article,...

As the following Washington Post Article documents, Alan Wood, the WWII veteran who helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima, passed away at the age of 90 years old.  The photo, which became the subject of the Iwo Jima Memorial in the Arlington National Cemetery, captured a moment of pain and triumph for a generation of veterans.  Mr. Wood poignantly recalled the events leading up to the raising of...

On April 25, 2013, Senators Bernie Sangers (I-Vt.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), introduced The Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2013.  The bill, which can be accessed at The Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2013, is aimed at eliminating veteran homelessness by 2015 and includes:  (1) expanded availability of legal services to homeless veterans; (2) increased transitional housing for...

On April 19, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published VBA Letter 20-13-05, entitled “Guidance Regarding Special Initiative to Process Rating Claims Pending Over Two Years.”  The guidance memorandum can be found at the following link:  VBA Letter 20-13-05. In essence, the VA has instructed its Regional Offices to process all initial claims pending more than two years...

On April 19, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a plan to expedite processing of disability claims older than one year.  I’ll provide more information once the VA discloses the implimentation procedures; however, for those affected claims the VA will provide provisional Rating Decisions based upon the existing VA Claim record and permit one year for the claimant to...

As the following U.S. News Report documents, a small cadre of both active-duty servicemembers and veterans will conduct a four-mile run along the Charles River tonight as a show of solidarity and support after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. As the group’s spokesperson, Larry Olsen, stated, “What we decided to do is, rather than focusing on the tragedy, is get people out carrying the...

On April 8, 2013, we published a blog on Restrictive Lung Disease and Agent Orange. An associated issue we encounter is a veteran who has filed a claim for restrictive lung diseases as secondary to their Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Establishing service connection for issues such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as secondary to PTSD can be difficult and I highly...

In November 2012, we published a short article entitled Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions – A Nation’s Belated Acknowledgement to Vietnam-Era Veterans.  As the above article documents, while respiratory cancers are considered presumptively service connected to herbicide exposure, restrictive lung diseases (such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)) are not.  But cf. Combee...

The linked article at loganbanner.com, documents a looming battle among veteran advocate groups over proposed changes to how the government adjusts government benefits for inflation. The proposed change would link adjustments to inflation to a variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), called “chained CPI.”  If the proposed changes are implemented for calculating veterans...