Veterans Disability Tag

On or about August 4, 2014, a long-term study was released on the association between Agent Orange exposure and diseases of the endocrine, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems.  This study was related to exposure for Republic of Korea (ROK) military personnel who served in Korea during the Vietnam War.  In essence, the study assessed the prevalence of certain diseases for...

As the linked New York Times Article report documents, it appears there is bipartisan support for a bill that will provide additional funding for twenty-six new VA medical facilities. More importantly, the Bill provides for additional funding and support for veterans to see private medical care if they live in locations more than 40 miles from the nearest VA medical facility or are...

Amid increasing public and Congressional scrutiny, President Obama accepted the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki.  A video of President Obama’s speech can be found at the following CNN Report. Veterans, the press, Congress, and the public-at-large will have years to debate the legacy of Secretary Shinseki’s tenure at the VA and how to...

While medical and scientific research cannot replace a nexus opinion from a licensed physician, it is an important tool for veterans to both understand the nature of their disability and advance their disability compensation claim before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  VA disability claims commonly address difficult issues regarding etiology for a disability or differential...

On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013), holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it is “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.”  Section 3 of DOMA  essentially defined “marriage” and...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has lauched an online library of veteran-specific health information, called the Veterans Health Library.  The website can be accessed at http://www.veteranshealthlibrary.org/. I had an opportunity to review some of the material and one of the best parts of the Veterans Health Library is the “medication” section.  Many of the veterans we represent...

As the linked Bloomberg article documents, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to increase the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) budget to $157.8 billion.  This represents a $13 billion increase from the VA’s current budget. Included in this increase is authorization to hire ninety-four (94) new employees to help address the well-documented backlog in VA disability and...

On May 22, 2013, the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing entiled, “Expediting Claims or Exploiting Statistics?:  An Examination of VA’s Special Initiative to Process Rating Claims Pending Over Two Years.”  The hearing can be accessed at...

If a veteran or claimant receives a Rating Decision from a VA Regional Office and disagree with that decision they need to file a Notice of Disagreement .  A NOD is a “written communication from a claimant or his representative expressing dissatisfaction or disagreement with an adjudicative determination of an agency of original jurisdiction.”  38 C.F.R. § 19.113.  The NOD must be filed within...

An  issue I commonly encounter is a veteran who has filed a claim for heart disease that is secondary to their service-connected Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or a spouse of a veteran attempting to get Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) because stress from PTSD contributed to or lent aid to a heart condition that caused the veteran’s death.  Establishing service...