Blog: News & Insights

The linked New York Times Article details a class-action lawsuit filed by Yale Law School “against the armed forces arguing that he and other Vietnam veterans had post-traumatic stress disorder when they were issued other-than-honorable discharges.”  The article describes one Vietnam veteran’s fight to have his discharge upgraded after being court-martialed, presumably during...

The linked Navy Times Article describes the effects of President Obama signing into law the cost of living adjustment (COLA) bill for veteran benefits.   If you are receiving disability compensation, pension, or survivor benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), you will receive a 1.7% increase in the amount of benefits, effective December 1, 2012.  However, veterans will not see...

On November 28, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued an opinion in Cameron v. Shinseki.  The CAVC held that the veteran’s attorney was not entitled to fees based upon a filed claim for increase in disability rating before the Regional Office (RO) when there was a concurrent, but separate, claim for a similar disability pending on appeal.  Prior to the adjudication...

After the 1991 Gulf War, veterans were returning from theater with unexplained symptoms with no identifiable causation.  In the subsequent years, scientific and medical literature have attributed these symptoms to exposure to toxins, chemical weapons, and/or bacteria.  On a personal note, I returned to the United States in 2005 to discover that my unit at Camp Ar Ramadi was exposed to...

This great article in Fortune lays out the most common mistakes people make when enrolling in Medicare.  Check it out!!! And Boomers–it’s never to early to call us to discuss questions about Medicare, Social Security, Long-Term Care Insurance and Estate Planning (you probably have wills that list Guardians for your kids who are now grown, right?)!!

On November 21, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued an opinion in Monzingo v. Shinseki.  The CAVC rejected the Veteran’s arguments that: (1) the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) provided inadequate reasons for denying service connection for the Veteran’s hearing loss; (2) relied on an inadequate medical examination; and (3) erred in finding the...

Check out this useful screed in the Saramento Bee about how to best use holiday visiting to assess how elderly parents and relatives are doing at home, and what conversations need to be broached if it looks like those loved ones are less than completely independent.

The linked Jacksonville Daily News Article reports that tinnitus was the most popular claim for disability before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2011.  On a personal note, as an Army veteran who suffers from tinnitus, I can appreciate how debilitating this condition can be. Tinnitus, otherwise known as ringing in the ear, is most commonly caused by normal hearing loss associated...

On November 20, 2012, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in Pitts v. Shinseki regarding whether a veteran has the right to effective assistance of counsel before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CVAC) under the U.S. Constitution.  The Federal Circuit held that “the right to the effective assistance of counsel does not apply to proceedings before the CVAC.”  In analyzing...

The linked Article on VA Outreach documents that at least 50% of veterans still do not understand the possible benefits they are eligible for through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Thankfully, as current servicemembers are outprocessing from the military they are now required to go through training regarding VA benefits.  However, as most veterans experienced during their time in...