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"This country is capable of drafting you,
putting you in boot camp, teaching you to kill someone,
and then putting you in a war zone within six months.

So, why can't they process a claim that fast?"



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Providing you with the latest veterans news and disability benefits information 24 x 7. VAWatchdog Today is your one-stop source of the intel you need!


 



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Fixing the VA-DOD health system fiasco  

As health care plans nationwide enter the home stretch of implementing electronic records under the framework of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, and military service disability claims backlogs grow in size and attention, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon need a much more coherent approach to modernize and deploy their electronic health record systems.  



House Committee on Veterans' Affairs  May 22, 2013 10:00am

Expediting Claims or Exploiting Statistics?  An Examination of VA’s Special Initiative to Process Rating Claims Pending Over Two Years.

You can watch the hearing live...click the above link at the scheduled time.



Misconduct discharges increase sharply in Army  

The number of soldiers discharged from the Army for misconduct has risen to its highest rate in recent times, and some are wounded combat troops who have lost their medical care and other veterans benefits because of other-than-honorable discharges.


Jim's Mailbag

Email Jim at <jim912@gmail.com>

Discuss & Leave a Comment Here 

 
Jim,

Just a short note to say THANK YOU for all your work at Watchdog. I am a Vietnam Vet. With the info posted on the site and reading your directions I was successful in my claim for PTSD. I was awarded today TDIU and with no future exams scheduled. I did a DIY claim just as you recommend.

Thank you again
 
Reply,

Wow. That's terrific. Thank you for sharing that with me. This is why I publish this little blog. Nobody cares about your claim the way you do. Do It Yourself and be sure it gets done right the first time.
Jim:
 
I have had prostate cancer and I have had surgery. My PSA level is below 1 now.  I have been receiving 100% temporary compensation for 11 months now. I had my first C and P five months ago and was given another 6 months of 100% because they found my cancer as still being active due to some blood tests they ran on me. I am due another C and P next month but have not been notified yet. It was also noted on my last C and P that i had Urinary Incontinence.

My question: If and when I am taken off the temporary compensation will I be awarded a lower % because of the incontinence automatically or do I have to file another claim to get that.

I did file and am receiving compensation for ED
 
Reply,

When you have that next C & P exam, the examiner will make notes about residual effects of the surgery like incontinence. That report will go to the regional office where a decision will be made about any further rating. You don't need to file anything else.

The rating for erectile dysfunction is a Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) benefit and it won't be changed during this process.

You may want to read more about Vietnam veterans and prostate cancer by clicking here.




















Ask the Doctor (He's Also a Veterans Lawyer)


Dear Dr. Anaise,

My claim for TDIU has been denied. I don't understand why because I was quickly approved for SSDI.  I'm rated at 80% by VA for hearing loss, tinnitus, a left shoulder injury, severe bilateral pes planus and knee injuries. In the denial letter VA said that my back injury was acute and  transient and that it wasn't the cause of my back problems today. The VA doctor who examined me didn't do much of an exam, she didn't spend any time with me and she was in a rush to go somewhere.

My VSO representative has explained to me that to appeal, I'll probably need to get an Independent Medical Opinion (IMO) and nexus statement that shows that my current disability to my back was the result of a hard fall I had in training. This was in 1992 and my injury is documented in my service medical record. I did recover enough from that injury to return to duty but I never quit having pain in my back. The back just got worse over the years. Now I can't work at all and doctors say I need to have back surgery to relieve some sort of pressure in my disks.

How can an IMO help me?

/S/

A Distraught Veteran

Dear Distraught Veteran,

Your letter poses two questions. The first is whether or not you are eligible for TDIU. The other is pursuing your back injury. It appears that you have 80% disability due to conditions unrelated to your back injury. I also assume that one of the disabilities listed is more than 40%. As such, you are eligible for TDIU based solely on your rated disabilities. The second element considered in granting TDIU is your ability to work. In your case you have been granted Social Security disability.

I assume that the Social Security disability was granted primarily due to your service-connected disabilities and not due to other conditions that are not listed. The decision by the Social Security is of great significance to the veteran administration and is sufficient in most cases to satisfy the second element of your claim. Note that the effective date for the TDIU is not the date you have claimed TDIU , but rather the date you have filed and received an increase of disability to more
than 70%.

As for pursuing the back injury. The VA must consider your disability at the time that you suffer from exacerbation of your back injury and not during interval of quiescence. Unlike the C&P examiner, your private physician must have seen you during periods of exacerbation. And the results of his evaluation can be incorporated into an appropriate nexus letter. The back rating encompasses three fields of inquiry;

* Limitations of motions in flexion and extension

* The effect of back injury on pain and endurance

* The effect of pressure on the nerves by a disc

These three inquiries represent distinct ratings and can be combined in certain circumstances. To prevail on your claim, the Nexus letter should include not only assessment of motion limitation of the spine, (as the VA examiner does) but also pain, lack of endurance fatigability, the use of a cane, and the use of a brace.

The letter shall explore the objective criteria for a neurological damage and provide a recommendation for the appropriate rating. The Nexus letter should also address whether your current disability is related to your service by reviewing your service records and opining that the injuries you suffered during your service are related to your current claim for disability

Finally, the BVA has the duty to review your entire claim file and not only your claim for back injury. Thus, the Nexus letter shall also address any worsening of
your other service-connected disabilities, which may affect your total disability.

A well constructed and thorough IMO and a nexus statement may support your claim for TDIU as well as the nature of a service connection for the back injury.


Dr. David Anaise is a veteran, a physician and a veterans law attorney. His web site is here.  


Do you have a question for Dr. Anaise? You may write to him at <thevawatchdog@gmail.com>   Dr. Anaise will answer your general interest question here, on the pages of VAWatchdog. You will not be identified.

Any information published here isn't legal advice nor is it medical advice. The questions and answers you'll read here are of general interest and the information provided here may not apply to your particular situation.














America’s Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve   

Our veterans are the finest the U.S. has to offer. They have been tested under fire and are truly leaders who know what it means to serve others. Honor, selflessness, and dedication are just a few of the many attributes our veterans bring with them to civilian life. They are truly a blessing and an asset to America.


Lawmakers call for VA hospital changes following fourth suicide   

The head of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said Friday that top leaders at the Atlanta VA Medical Center clearly had “something to hide” after failing to reveal the suicide of a Georgia veteran at the hospital last fall.   













Marine Corps veteran’s mother says her son struggled with PTSD, anxiety and depression; calls for change
  
Patricia Passetto wants change in this country and in how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs serves its constituents.

Her son, 28-year-old Marine Corps veteran Edward S. Passetto of Pittsfield, died on Saturday morning from an apparent suicide on Monument Mountain. He had long struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.


Veterans face war once back home for benefits and aid  

Denhardt’s base was hit by a rocket attack and he suffered severe head injuries that led to seizures, headaches and dizziness. Thankful to be alive within the “kill zone” of the explosions, Denhardt didn’t immediately realize how many health problems — and bureaucratic problems — he would soon face.

He had been thrust into another war. This time, he would be battling the military red-tape within the bureaucracy of the Army and the Veteran’s Administration.

That’s a war with more than one million casualties.














Veterans say burn pits caused health problems  


VA researcher quits over burn pit studies    

Steven Coughlin had enough. He packed up and left D.C.

Coughlin was a research epidemiologist who was working on behalf of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. When he found the impact of burn pits on veterans was going to be left out of a study he was working on, he quit, packed his bags and moved out West.

“I just couldn’t go along with what they were doing,” Coughlin said. 


VA Scientist Resigned over Alleged Cover-Up of Burn Pit Danger Data  


VA Whistleblower Ignites Firestorm Over Vets’ Illnesses  

Epidemiologist says VA hid and manipulated data regarding burn pits and Gulf War syndrome.









It Can Be Done: Suing The Veterans Administration
Jeffrey A. Milman, Esq. Founding Partner at Hodes-Milman-Lieback






VA announces overtime ‘surge’ to battle disability claims backlog
   
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Wednesday that it is mandating the use of overtime for claims processors at its 56 regional offices as part of a “surge” aimed at eliminating the disability claims backlog.

The announcement is the latest in a series of measures the department has adopted in recent months in response to sharp criticism over the number of claims pending from veterans seeking disability compensation. That number, which was over 900,000 earlier this year, had fallen to 843,000 as of May 13, more than two-thirds of which have been pending for over 125 days.


Complaints Voiced At Forum About VA Claims Backlog  

Military veterans and their advocates described a broken system where claims for VA benefits are dragged through a bureaucratic maze.  Patrick Asta-Ferrero of Agawam, a  U.S. Army Iraq War veteran unable to work because of head trauma, said he started filing claims with the VA almost five years ago with no resolution to his case within sight. 












California homebuying program for veterans hands out few loans
 
A state program designed to help California veterans buy homes granted just 83 loans last year, despite more than $1.1 billion in available funding.

The California Department of Veterans Affairs employed 87 staff members to run the loan program, spending $10.6 million on overhead to originate $10.5 million in loans, according to the state Department of Finance. 


At Hampton VA, caring for sexual assault victims is ongoing battle    

A Defense Department anonymous survey estimated a 35 percent increase in sexual assault and related offenses in the military over two years. Meanwhile, three officers who directed or managed sexual assault prevention programs have been caught up in investigations that range from groping a woman in a parking lot, to pimping, to violating a protection from abuse order.
































































































 


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