03 Jan 2023

Breaking Down an Agent Orange Illness Claim

Agent Orange, VA appeals Attorney, VA Benefits, VA Disability Attorney, VA Disability Claims, Veterans' Appeals
Breaking Down an Agent Orange Illness Claim Does an Agent Orange illness trouble you? Agent Orange may be one of the most well-known herbicides, and not for a good reason. This defoliant was widely used throughout the 1960s, mainly in Vietnam. It contained a contaminant called dioxin, and now both Agent Orange and dioxin are known to be linked with cancer and several other serious illnesses, including diabetes and birth defects. Both Vietnamese and Americans stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War were exposed to Agent Orange and many have developed the illnesses mentioned. Before Agent Orange was studied extensively,…
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22 Nov 2022

Burn Pit Victims Struggle to Find Healthcare

Burn Pit Legislation, VA Disability Compensation, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans' Appeals
Burn Pit Victims Struggle to Find Healthcare In an effort to assist burn pit victims, a Veterans Administration-sponsored burn pit online registry was supposed to connect Veterans with appropriate medical care. That hasn’t happened, according to one advocacy group. “The health problems experienced by the many veterans who deployed to Southwest Asia warrant sustained and rigorous attention and need to be addressed, but the VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry is not the right mechanism to meet all the needs,” said David Savitz, professor of epidemiology at Brown University’s School of Public Health and chairman of the committee…
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20 Oct 2022

PTSD and Substance Abuse

PTSD, PTSD Disability, veteran suicide, Veterans' Appeals
PTSD and Substance Abuse Can Lead to Early Death Researchers at Boston University have completed a study looking at the interplay between PTSD and substance abuse. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and external psychological markers like substance abuse predict early death in veterans. The study authors, who focused on veterans with PTSD, found a high risk of premature death beginning at the cellular level.  “Our study found that PTSD and comorbid conditions like substance misuse are associated with a cellular marker of early death found in DNA methylation patterns and referred to as ‘GrimAge.’” These are the words of the corresponding…
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18 Oct 2022

VA Changes PACT Act Process

Burn Pits, Presumptive Disease, VA appeals Attorney, VA Benefits, VA Disability Compensation, VA Law, Veterans Disability, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans' Appeals
VA Changes PACT Act Process Before the VA changed the PACT Act process, the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act required veterans who wanted to file claims for compensation for a presumptive illness to wait a couple of years for the legislation to go into effect. Burn pit and other victims would have to wait up to a year before they applied for benefits. Now, the VA has sped up the law's implementation so veterans may file these claims immediately. As of October 1, post-9/11 veterans have one year to enroll in VA health care if they meet one of…
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06 Sep 2022

Can You Receive State Unemployment Benefits and VA Disability Benefits?

VA Disability Claims, Veterans Disability, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans' Appeals
Can You Receive State Unemployment Benefits and VA Disability Benefits? The government offers benefits, including unemployment benefits, to residents and their families in times of need. Veterans may qualify for disability benefits from the Veterans Administration and unemployment benefits from the federal or state government at the same time, because the types of benefits serve different purposes. The biggest difference between unemployment and disability benefits is that unemployment is intended to be temporary whereas disability is generally for the rest of a person’s life, or as long as their disabling condition lasts. VA disability benefits, according to President Abraham Lincoln’s…
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09 Aug 2022

Top Seven VA Disability Claims

VA appeals Attorney, VA Benefits, VA Disability Claims, VA Disability Compensation, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans' Appeals
Top Seven VA Disability Claims Do you have a VA disability claim? The number of claims is on the rise. The sharp increase in deployments post-9/11 has pushed the number of disabled American Veterans to nearly four million. That is almost half of the Veterans who serve their country in any capacity, stateside or overseas. Most of these VA disability claims involve one of the seven conditions listed below. The VA and the Department of Defense are the two largest cabinet departments, and the VA is chronically underfunded. Unfortunately for veterans, as the disability rate has increased, the claims denial…
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26 Jul 2022

How to Appeal a Denied DIC Claim Under the Appeals Modernization Act

Denied DIC Benefits, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans' Appeals
How to Appeal a Denied DIC Claim Under the Appeals Modernization Act   Do you have a denied DIC claim? Before 2017, some Veterans claimed the VA’s attitude about disability claims was “deny until they die.” That idea is a bit melodramatic, but not entirely misplaced. Many disabled veterans waited several years for benefits to which they were entitled because of a service-related illness or injury. The Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act (AMA) substantially changed the landscape. Now, many veterans only wait a few weeks for their day in court.   This law changed the available appeal options. The…
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12 Jul 2022

Continuous Cohabitation and DIC Survivor Benefits

Denied DIC Benefits, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Veterans Disability, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans Pension Benefit, Veterans' Appeals
Continuous Cohabitation and DIC Survivor Benefits Marriage vows are for better or for worse, and in most marriages, spouses experience plenty of good and bad. Traditionally, spouses live together throughout a marriage, known as cohabitation, though living apart is not as rare as it used to be. If the divorce rate is any indication, it is a safe assumption that many married couples go through periods of physical separation, breaking their continuous cohabitation. Separation gives both individuals time to cool off and think when things aren’t working out in a marriage. The Veterans Administration addresses continuous cohabitation – or, living…
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21 Jun 2022

What Constitutes a Service-Connected Death

Denied DIC Benefits, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans Pension Benefit, Veterans' Appeals
What Constitutes a Service-Connected Death?   If the VA attributes the death to a disability acquired or aggravated, in line of duty or service in the military then the VA may deem the expiration as a service-connected death. Surviving family members, mostly surviving spouses, of deceased disabled veterans could be eligible for a monetary benefit known as Dependency & Indemnity Compensation, more commonly known as DIC benefits. Two main requirements must be met. First, the applicant must have a qualifying relationship with the deceased veteran. Second, the veteran’s cause of death must be related to a service-connected disability. This article…
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31 May 2022

Bill to Expand VA Burn Pit Coverage Reaches Senate

Burn Pit Legislation, VA Law, Veterans Disability, Veterans Disability Attorney, Veterans Disability Lawyer, Veterans Pension Benefit, Veterans' Appeals
Bill to Expand VA Burn Pit Coverage Veterans are now waiting on the United States Senate to pass the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021. This is the bill to expand VA burn pit coverage, better known as the PACT Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives. Pat Murray, the legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, urged Senators to expand burn pit exposure coverage for veterans who served in Southwest Asia. After all, he pointed out, burn pits are illegal in the United States because it is common knowledge that breathing in…
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