Blog: News & Insights

On Nov. 14, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims CAVC issued an opinion in Copeland v. Shinseki.  Foremost, the CAVC rejected the claimants argument that Congress’s assignment of the effective date of enactment for 38 U.S.C. § 5121A violated equal protection under the 5th Amendment, U.S. Constitution. Second, the CAVC rejected claimants argument that the VA failed to provide an...

As every veteran who has applied for benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) knows, there is a tremendous backlog in claims processing.  While the VA’s goal of processing all claims within 125 days is undoubtedly a positive initiative, veterans need to be aware that the VA also has inordinately high error rate in their Rating Decisions.  As the linked Washington Times...

On November 9, 2012, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in Youngman v. Shinseki regarding a fiduciary’s eligibility to receive unpaid benefits due upon a veteran’s death.  The Federal Circuit held that “a veteran’s fiduciary does not have standing or authority to receive accrued benefits that were unpaid at the veteran’s death. . . .”  Under 38 U.S.C. §...

Please see the attached link to a Washington Times article regarding President Obama’s speech on Veterans Day at Veterans Day Speech.  President Obama’s speech emphasized the goal of processing original claims for benefits at the VA within 125 days.  While meeting this goal would be much needed achievement, it also highlights the need for veterans to be aggressive in advocating...

For New Jersey veterans who need a break from their VA claim, storm-related power outages, and gas shortages, I’m happy to share a positive article about local Applebees locations offering a free meal on Veterans Day, November 11th.  Applebees’ requirements for demonstrating proof of military service is less onerous than the Department of Veterans Affairs and can be satified by...

The Veterans’ Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012 will provide a much needed 1.3 percent cost of living adjustment to veterans receiving disability compensation (to include dependency and indemnity compensation).  The bill has been held up in the Senate since September, though the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs had previously cleared it.  Hopefully, the bill will pass the Senate...

Any veteran can search prior decisions by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) at the following: Link to BVA Decisions. The BVAs search engine was inoperable for a good portion of 2012, however, it is now up and running. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) is an adminstrative tribunal within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where members of the BVA review claims...

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...