Veteran Disability Tag

On June 17, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs released VAOPGCPREC 4-2014, an opinion clarifying the application of 38 U.S.C. § 103(c).  Section 103(c) deals with the definition of “spouse” for VA purposes.  In short, if a marriage is “valid under the law of place where they resided at the time of inception of their marriage, it is valid for VA purposes.”  Under...

The following Omaha.com article documents recommendations from the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force to reduce the active-duty troop force significantly.  This orients with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s recent proposal to reduce the size of active-duty Army personnel from 520,000 to 440,000. Invariably, some active-duty personnel will continue to serve in the...

I’ve had the opportunity recently to discuss ancillary benefits for a veteran now rated at 100% permanently and totally disabled before the Department of Veterans Affairs.   Without exception, each veteran would prefer good health over money; however, veterans are appreciative of financial benefits available to both the disabled veteran and their family.  These benefits include inter...

On February 4, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General released a new report concerning the transition of VA claims system to a fully electronic model.  The report entitled, Review of VBA’s Transition to a Paperless Claims Processing Environment, Report Number 11-04376-81 (Feb. 4, 2013), documents a multitude of issues with transitioning the disability claims...

On January 4, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) published two new opinions/orders.  One of the cases, Checo v. Shinseki, concerned an untimely Notice of Appeal before the CVAC.  Earlier this month, we published a short article on appeals before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The article, which can be accessed at Article on VA Appeals, provides an overview of the...

Today’s Miami Herald contains an article about the Soldier Ride, a bicycle ride from Miami to the Florida Keys for wounded veterans.  The article is worth reading if only because it tells the story of two young Soldiers, SSG Dennison and SPC Todd, who both lost their legs in Afghanistan only a few months ago during the same battle.  Their positive attitude and ability to overcome...

We recently published a short article on the appellate process for disability compensation claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The article, which can be accessed at http://www.finkrosner.com/articles/va-appeal-process.html, provides a short, concise overview of how a veteran/claimant would appeal an unfavorable VA decision. This provides me with an opportunity to also...

On January 4, 2013, the Federal Circuit issued a published opinion in Harris v. Shinseki regarding what constitutes an informal claim for benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The opinion can be accessed at Harris v. Shinseki. The Federal Circuit ruled that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) failed to properly consider the legal standard set forth in Moody v....

On December 21, 2012, the Senate unanimous confirmed William S. Greenberg, of New Jersey, to “be a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for a term of fifteen years.”  As I blogged in a December 17, 2012 Post, Mr. Greenberg has a long history of military service as a reserve-component Army Judge Advocate General and an equally long history of pro bono...

In welcome news for many aging veterans and surviving spouses who receive pension through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VA will no longer require those recipients to file annual Eligibility Verification Reports (EVR).  More information about the VA pension programs can be found in an earlier blog post at...