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Greg served in the Air Force as a C-17 loadmaster in both Operations Enduring
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Providing Military Veterans Personalized Psychological and Medical Evaluations. Complete the Contact form, and you'll get a personal phone call from us. We listen, and want to know what you are going through. We provide Independent Medical Evaluations (IME), Independent Medical Opinions (IMO) and nexus letters for ratings reviews, secondary conditions, medical conditions, discharge upgrades, and many types of denied claims. We also provide Social Security Disability claim reports.
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Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA
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Dependency and Indemnity Compensation DIC
Family member benefits...VA benefits for spouses, dependents, survivors, and family caregivers...
As the spouse or dependent child of a Veteran or service member, you may qualify for certain benefits, like health care, life insurance, or money to help pay for school or training.
As the survivor of a Veteran or service member, you may qualify for added benefits, including help with burial costs and survivor compensation.
If you’re caring for a Veteran, you may also be eligible for support to help you better care for the Veteran—and for yourself. Find out which benefits you may qualify for and how to access them.
Question: If you are awarded compensation for IHD, and afterward you have a pacemaker installed, can it be claimed as secondary? Thanks.
Jim's Reply: Yes. When we have Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) that disease may cause damage to the electrical conduction pathways of the heart and then require some electrical assistance from a pacemaker or an AICD. The pacemaker is installed to monitor the heartbeat and send impulses to the heart when it needs it.
There are other reasons that may require a pacemaker (viruses, valve disease) to be installed so your doctor must agree and make notes to your records that your conduction problems were caused by the IHD. Once your doctor agrees to that, you can file a claim to have the pacer rated as secondary to your IHD. Good luck.
Question: Jim, Thank you for setting up “Jim’s Mailbag.” Here’s my question: What, if anything, do Representatives & Senators typically do when VA, to the Veteran’s distinct disadvantage, demonstrably misrepresents to them, the facts of their constituent’s case at VA? [NB: I’m not taking about a he-said, she-said situation, I’m talking about a situation where the VA tells them, “the record states X,” but when you go to the record, you find it unambiguously states the opposite?
Jim's Reply: Congresspersons, senators and representatives, are legislators. They make the laws, they have no power to enforce the law that they make. When a veteran seeks a Congressional inquiry about their claim, the representative (or their aide) will write a simple letter to VA seeking an explanation to the veterans problem. While the representative has no authority to tell VA what to do, this often solves the problem just by the problem being raised to this level.
Often enough VA will write to the Congressperson to tell them everything is going according to plan and that ends the inquiry.
VA would tell you that mistakes do sometimes happen and that if you discover a mistake worthy of attention, the only thing to do is to appeal and appeal again. You are the only person who can initiate an appeal when you find an error. Go for it.
SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS
As a family caregiver you play an important role in caring for the Veteran at home and in the community. Eligibility for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) has expanded. Review the fact sheets to learn more about the expansion.
Dependents Indemnity Compensation
Click Here to view details of the following:
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Are You Rated For A Spine Condition?
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Since 2005, We're Keeping An Eye On Your VA
Because Somebody Has To!
Welcome Home! I'm Jim Strickland. I'm an Army vet, I was 91-D20 in USAREUR at the
98th General Hospital near Camp Baumholder 1967 - 1970. I publish the VAWatchdog
Dot Org to help you obtain the benefits you earned by your service to our country.
I'll also share what I'm reading today, the important stuff. An informed veteran
is a successful veteran. Feedback is always welcomed.
Veterans Law Attorney Drew Early
Graduate of the US Military Academy West Point
20 years of active Army service, multiple deployments, tours with 2 Infantry
Division, 10th Mountain Division , XVIII Airborne Corps, and Third Army,
Airborne and Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal badges.
Graduate of the Command and General Staff College Master's Degree in
Strategic Planning from the School of Advanced Military Studies
Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief
Volume: 1
Date: 2019-07-01
Original Date: 2019-07-01
Title: PART 17 - MEDICAL
disability claim
Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
or increased disability compensation.
Thomas J. Seiter, Jr., M.D.
Veteran
Independent Medical Opinions
DBQs Nexus Letters
Service & Civilian Medical Records Reviews
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
When You Hit A Dead End
The Department of Veterans Affairs
White House Hotline
855 - 948 - 2311
< Denis.McDonough@va.gov >
Yes, this really works. No, it doesn't ring in the White House. The email address and phone number are staffed by a seemingly serious group of players, many who are veterans, and if you have a legit issue, telling these folks is like bringing in the artillery. Let's prepare for your call or email. Make some notes before you proceed so you don't forget anything. I prefer email since there's no waiting for someone to answer and I can take my time to prepare the story in just the right detail. Be sure to include your DOB, your last 4, contact info...a couple of numbers, your preferred email and such. Describe the problem as briefly as you can. Less is more. Include the necessary components but don't tell your life story. Don't rant. Be polite...military courtesy will get you places that hollering IN ALL CAPS won't. Respect! Don't waste their time with bogus complaints about your feelings being hurt. If you appropriately utilize this service, I'll vouch that this works like a champ. Tell them you read about this at The VAWatchdog Dot Org...they know who we are.
Never Stop Reading
Never Stop Learning
C&P Service Clinician’s Guide
When the examiner says, “more likely than not”
or “at least as likely as not”, how
does that affect the outcome of your claim?
Jim Strickland
jim912@gmail.com
Specializing in Veterans Law
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