This is VAWatchdogToday 

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!


 

Email <jim912@gmail.com>       Fax VAWatchdog 1-888-658-5058

Our Privacy Policy        The VAWatchdog Message Board

VA Halves the Number of Claims Backlogged More Than Two Years  

The Veterans Affairs Department has processed 22,000 out of the 42,000 disability claims that have languished for two years or longer, Allison A. Hickey, VA’s undersecretary for benefits, told a House VA Committee hearing today.

The 51 percent reduction occurred after VA kicked off a project on April 19 to eliminate the oldest claims in the backlog within 60 days. Hickey said the department expects to meet that goal.

VA decided to speed up processing of old claims by making a provisional decision to authorize payment to veterans who would then have a year to file additional evidence to support their case. Hickey said that only 5 percent of the old claims rated over the past month had a provisional rating.

   
A new investigation by the Colorado Springs Gazette says the U.S. Army is downsizing from a decade of war by increasingly kicking out soldiers, including wounded combat veterans. Despite serving multiple tours of duty, the wounded soldiers lose their medical care and other benefits for life. 

Veterans Affairs Health Records System Update Sought By Pentagon    

Officials have said repeatedly that the backlog is owed at least in part to the lack of an integrated record system between the Pentagon and VA. The two departments have computer systems that don't talk to each other, delaying the transfer of service members' records when they leave the military and come under the VA's care. 


Memorial Day mission: Break the backlog at Veterans Affairs  By Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.)

Each Memorial Day, as we honor our nation’s fallen heroes, we are also reminded of the enormous debt of gratitude we owe the more than 20 million American veterans still with us today. Regrettably, nearly a million of these veterans are currently being shortchanged.

After decades of mismanagement, the Department of Veterans Affairs is buried under a mountain of backlogged disability benefits compensation claims. Nearly 900,000 veterans are waiting for a claims decision — a process that takes nine months on average, but in some cases takes years

  
A Department of Veterans Affairs accounting released in response to inquiries from The Associated Press shows a heavy financial and emotional cost involving vets from Iraq, Afghanistan and even back to Vietnam, and lasting long after a victim leaves the service.


V.A. Warns Aging Veterans Against ‘Pension Poachers’  

If you’ve applied for the Aid and Attendance benefit from Department of Veterans Affairs — which can provide as much as $2,019 monthly for a veteran and spouse for caregiving expenses — then you are all too familiar with some of the reasons for the typical 8-to-18-month delays in getting an answer from the V.A.


Food Stamp Cuts Feared By Veterans    

Veterans have a reminder for the Senate as it takes up plans to cut food stamps by $4.1 billion this week: The aid has been -- and still is -- vital to people who served their country.

Jim's Mailbag

Email Jim at <jim912@gmail.com>

Discuss & Leave a Comment Here 

 

Hi Jim,

My husband retired 20 year's from the Army. While in the army he broke his wrist now he has arteritis in that wrist and over the past 5 years he is losing mobility in the wrist. Va Rep was not very helpful. So question is what is it we need to do to get a rating review, step by step instruction would really help. Thank up you for any assistance you can give. Vet and wife of a Vet

Reply,

If you'll explore the pages at VAWatchdog, you'll find many step by step instructions for how to file a claim. There are also many templates provided to help veterans write letters to VA and a lot more.

To have a well grounded claim requires that there be an event in service that can be verified and then a confirmed medical diagnosis of a disabling condition that is related to the in service event.

If your veteran has proof he broke a wrist during his military service, he has satisfied the first step. Then things become more challenging. He must have evidence that there is an arthritic condition. That means a confirmed diagnosis by a physician.

Then he must have a statement from a physician that the current condition is more likely than not caused by the in service event and not just a product of getting older.

Finally, the condition must be disabling. In the wrist or other joints, a lack of a normal range of motion is how that is defined. You can find the criteria VA uses here http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/bookc.asp 

We promote the Do It Yourself approach to filing VA disability claims. You'll find all you need to file a claim in the pages of the VAWatchdog blog. Any veteran who believes that he or she was harmed by military service is allowed to file a claim.

Every vet who files a claim must be aware of the rules and regulations that VA will use to adjudicate the claim. Vets who file claims should also be aware that the process is now taking about 2 years to answer even the simplest claims.

Finally, in the case of your husband, if he receives retirement pay, even if he is awarded a disability benefit by VA, that benefit amount may be offset by a deduction from his retirement pay. That can be a complex issue. You may read more about that here http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptv/ch05/ch05_toc.doc 

Michigan disabled vets could see property tax relief  

Some disabled veterans living in Michigan could get some relief next tax season under legislation being debated in the state Senate.

Two different bills passed by the Senate Finance Committee last week have one aim: to provide property tax exemptions for veterans who are disabled as the result of their military service.  

Jim:

After reviewing the recently available "NOD form" and the applicable law, I have concluded that the VA Form 21-0958 (where do they come up with these numbers?) has little value other than is an illustration of all that is wrong with today's VA. 

(Click here to see some background intel about the new form.) 

Rather than "simplifying" or "clarifying the process, this form creates many new legal pitfalls for unwary claimants.  There are so many obvious issues created by the design of the form -- all favorable to VA -- that VA must have intended to confuse veterans into waiving their rights to appeal.

Let us review.  The legal requirements for a "Notice of Disagreement" or "NOD" are found at 38 USC 7105 and 38 CFR 20.201.  The requirement for an adequate NOD is plainly stated as a "written communication from a claimant expressing dissatisfaction or disagreement with an adjudicative determination by the agency of original jurisdiction and a desire to contest the result."  Further, the regulation specifically states that while "special wording is not required, the Notice of Disagreement must be in terms which can reasonably construed as disagreement with that determination and a desire for appellate review."  That's it -- and these legal requirements actually appear at the very top of VA form.

There is no requirement for a "Telephone Contact."  There is no requirement to identify the "Specific Issues of Disagreement."  And there is certainly no
requirement for a claimant to specify the "percentage evaluation sought." 

Ms. Eagle has accurately described the problems with VA directly calling represented claimants.  The other two issues are at least as large a problem for unrepresented claimants.  Why is there not a box to check that reads "I disagree with all the decisions contained in the identified decision"?  This is often the case and is the only way unsophisticated and unrepresented claimants can ensure that VA has to explain why it decided all the issues in the case.  VA has a legal duty to assist the claimant:  there is no legal basis to shift that burden to claimants to assist VA.

The requirement to specify the "percentage evaluation sought" is equally loaded with pitfalls.  How does a claimant know what the highest rating allowed by the law is in his or her claim?  Once again it is VA's duty to make this determination, not the claimant's.  See, e.g., 38 CFR 4.7 (VA has duty to assign the higher of two possible ratings).

So what happens if a claimant leaves some of these sections blank?  What happens if a claimant only lists a few of the specific "issues" with which he or she disagrees?  What happens if a claimant states that he or she specifies a 50% "percentage evaluation sought" but the evidence supports a 100% rating - will VA award 50% or 100%??  Does the use of this "voluntary" form waive the claimant's rights to anything not specified or not provided??

Based on history - of course VA will consider each of these errors as a waiver of rights.  Heck, VA even tried to throw out a claimant's appeal of several issues when he had checked the "I want to appeal all issues" box on a VA Form 9.  See Evans 24 Vet. App. 292 (2011).  

Perhaps I am jaded, but I see nothing favorable for a claimant in using this NOD form.  My advice is that a claimant NEVER USE THIS FORM.  That is not to say that a claimant should not try to explain what he or she disagrees with in an NOD to try and help VA understand what the disagreement is.  But there is no legal requirement to do so.  And even if VA dramatically changes its historical habit of interpreting every law AGAINST veterans many, many claimants will lose their benefits or at least add many years to their appeals fighting to get their "waived" rights back -- if they can.

I, for one, would really like to hear from VA (Ms. Hickey?) about why the Department simply did not take the long existing VA Form 9 used to appeal issues to the Board and just change a few words (for example, "appeal" to "disagreement") and issue that as the "NOD Form"??  Too simple and direct?  Not confusing enough?  Too low a chance that claimants would inadvertently waive their appeal rights?  Did anyone who actually submits NODs (VSO or attorney) or reviews NODs (VARO staff) have an opportunity to provide suggestions and feedback on this form?

But confusing a claimant into waiving issues on appeal violates the law! 

Yep.  But so does ignoring remanded cases (those appealed cases where the Veterans Court and/or the Board has ALREADY decided there was a VA error) -- and VA is has been doing that for over a year in direct violation of 38 USC 5109B and 38 USC 7112 and Harvey v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 284 (2011).   If the Secretary will order direct violation of TWO statutes and a decision of the Veterans Court in order to "work" backlog claims, why would he not try to get claimants to waive their rights to appeal??

Finally, as much as VA argues that attorneys are not needed and even add to the delay in processing claims, why does it keep creating legal pitfalls that require legal representation? 

Doug Rosinski, Esq.
Veterans Law Attorney

http://www.vetsjustice.com/   

   
Lawmakers stepped up their efforts Wednesday to pressure the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs to address a bureaucratic backlog that has some veterans waiting years for disability claims 

  

Veterans face war once back home for benefits and aid  

Military veterans can’t keep waiting   

As Memorial Day nears, the plight of Americans who have borne the burden of fighting our wars should be uppermost in the minds of their countrymen. The growing frustration with the failure of the Veterans Administration to eliminate a huge and growing backlog of disability claims by members of the uniformed services is well justified and demands a timely response from the Obama administration. 

Veterans say burn pits caused health problems  


VA researcher quits over burn pit studies    


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


VA Whistleblower Ignites Firestorm Over Vets’ Illnesses  

   
Complaints Voiced At Forum About VA Claims Backlog  

Fixing the VA-DOD health system fiasco  

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

Misconduct discharges increase sharply in Army  

 
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.

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.