Generally, a combination of a medical diagnosis, the disability’s symptoms, and its effect on the Veteran’s everyday life determines the amount of benefits the disabled Veteran receives. A change in any one of these areas could significantly, and positively, affect your VA disability rating. The amount of monthly financial benefits depends primarily on the disability rating. […]
PTSD is one of the most common disabilities among veterans. When they go through traumatic events, many people have symptoms like depression, nightmares, and hypervigilance. If these symptoms persist for more than a few weeks, or they get worse instead of better, the person probably has PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is also one […]
All disability determinations involve a combination of medical and economic factors; this is also true for TDIU eligibility. The doctor never sits you down and tells you, “You are 30% disabled.” That’s because it’s not just about your diagnosis. It’s about how your condition affects you and what it stops you from doing. This is […]
The Veterans Administration recently released results for the 2019 fiscal year . Including the most common VA disabilities. In its defense, the VA’s fiscal year is different from the calendar year. And 2020 was a very busy year for all government agencies, including the VA. Other priorities, such as vaccinating as many Veterans as possible, […]
A bipartisan effort is underway to extend Agent Orange exposure benefits to service members who served in other parts of Southeast Asia during Operation Ranch Hand. Pennsylvania Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) and Matt Cartwright (D) introduced a bill that would apply to Veterans who were stationed in Laos, Cambodia, or Thailand during Operation Ranch Hand. […]
In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein set Kuwait’s oil fields on fire. Most of us have seen pictures of the thick, black, toxic smoke blanketing the region. In the Iraq War, a similar danger emerged. Toxic smoke, this time from our own large burn pits, claimed thousands of victims in Iraq […]
VA disability claims are individual claims. A doctor examines the veteran and determines the extent of the disability. Then a Claims Examiner determines if the Veteran’s disability is service-related. Both these determinations are subject to higher review. Class Action Claims are different in many ways. Individual Veterans may form a class and take collective action […]
You may be asking what options there are if you lose in CAVC. In the before times, if the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denied a Veteran’s appeal, that was essentially the end. Your attorney could file a motion for reconsideration or an appeal to the Federal Circuit, but those are rarely successful. The […]
If you are a lone David taking on the VA Goliath in a way that affects a lot of other veterans, your case might work better as CAVC class actions. The VA recently changed the class action rules, so it is important to know your rights. A class action is when a large collection of […]
It is not uncommon for a Veteran to receive a Decision Review Request Denial. The 2017 Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) significantly streamlined the VA disability appeals process. However, the AMA did not necessarily improve the quality of the review process or guarantee more favorable results. Additionally, the AMA created so many choices that many Veterans […]
