Vaccine Eligibility Expanded at DoD Sites
All eligible and authorized TRICARE beneficiaries and Defense Department personnel
can now get vaccinated for Covid-19 at DoD sites.
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Dependents & Survivor Benefits Specializing In Veterans Law Federal Tort Claims Disability Claims
Free Veterans Case Reviews Nationwide Representation
Veterans Struggle to Get Copies of Needed Service Records Due to Pandemic
Access to some VA benefits, services delayed as backlog of requests hits 500,000
The NPRC
Military Records
Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief
Volume: 1
Date: 2019-07-01
Original Date: 2019-07-01
Title: PART 17 - MEDICAL
The secret truth of the student debt crisis
Most student debt will be canceled sooner or later, because an ever-growing share
of borrowers cannot possibly repay their loans. Ever.
Veterans Affairs:Use of Additional Funding for COVID-19 Relief
As of April 14, 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported 224,538 cumulative
COVID-19 cases among veterans, with 11,366 deaths.
Never Stop Reading
Never Stop Learning
Rates of Parkinson’s disease are exploding.
A common chemical - trichloroethylene (TCE) - may be to blame
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
COVID-19 fraud is rapidly evolving. This page is frequently updated.
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired.
You quit when the gorilla is tired." — Robert Straus
How To
When you deal with your VA benefits there are dozens, maybe hundreds of resources on the Internet, usually way too complex
to read or they want your money to open their secrets...how do you choose where to take advice and council? I think I have
the answer. When you want to deal with your VA, whether you're filing a claim or trying to get along with your health care providers,
you need to hear the voice of a veteran who actually uses the VA. I'm in the process of providing that resource for you...for free.
No sign-up, no registration, instant access to reliable information. It's your VA, use it effectively.
This is a Work In Progress throughout 2021. Check back every now and then for updates.
Let's File A Claim
Filing your claim for VAbenefits isn't as hard as some want you to believe. Let's set the effective date of any claim you file in the next year. This one is easy so let's do it right now.
American Rescue Plan Helps Veterans
As part of the American Rescue Plan, the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP)
provides financial aid to help you recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical Experts For Veterans Disability Claims
Serving Veterans, Service Officers, & Attorneys since 2015
Nexus Letters / Medical Opinions - Get Started Now
Veterans Law Attorney Personal Injury Law
Nationwide Representation Free Veterans Consultations
Workers Compensation - Social Security Disability - Pain & Suffering - Emotional & Mental Anguish
Veterans unemployed due to pandemic now eligible for VA job training funds
VRRAP covers education and training programs approved under the GI Bill and Veteran Employment
Through Technology Education Courses, or VET TEC, that lead to high-demand jobs.
These include associate degrees, non-college degrees, and certificate programs.
Alabama
V A Claims Intake Center
PO BOX 4444
JANESVILLE, WI
53547- 4444
Toll Free Fax:
844-531-7818
Gregory Rada Veterans Law Attorney
Military Veteran - Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
VA disability appeals, TDIU claims, MST, PTSD, other mental health disability claims, appeals and veterans disability claims processes.
Attorney Rada offers free telephone case evaluations and nationwide representation.
Interest rate reduction refinance loan
If you have an existing VA-backed home loan and you want to reduce your monthly mortgage payments—
or make your payments more stable—an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) may be right for you.
Veterans Psych Evaluations
Brett Valette, Ph.D.
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.
Some Wounds Can't Be Seen Contact Us Today
Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA
disability benefits. Jim writes extensively about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
Jim's Mailbag is a regular column featured at Stateside Legal where veterans, servicemembers,
and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
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Family member benefits
VA benefits for spouses, dependents, survivors,
and family caregivers
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:
Dependents and Survivors Benefits
DIC rates
Death Gratuity Payment
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
Aid and Attendance and Housebound Benefits
Death Pension
Survivors' & Dependents' Educational Assistance
Other Benefits for Survivors
Do you need some help with your claim?
I'm accepting limited appointments to talk live on the phone or to videoconference with you. There is no fee for this service.
If you'd like to talk, provide me with some information about who you are and what's up and I'll be in touch. /s/ Jim
Welcome to the KnowVA Knowledge Base
Locate information more quickly and efficiently
$113.1 Billion Discretionary VA Bill for ’22 Submitted
The Biden administration’s proposed $113.1 billion spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs addresses delivery of health-care services, homelessness, suicide prevention, support for caregivers, and technological improvements.
Jim Strickland
jim912@gmail.com
New financial tool provides Veterans more control and transparency
Any Veteran with a debt related to VA benefits can now access their debt information online
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.
disability claim
Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
or increased disability compensation.
Three Consequences of Using Marijuana After Your State “Legalizes”
1. Marijuana users will fail future NICS firearm background checks.
You may file claims on eBenefits or you can mail them in using certified mail or you can even fax them in.
Download VA benefit letters
To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter proving their status.
Fascinating historical documents, reports on items in the news, oddities and fun stuff and government bloopers, they're all here.
Nexus and IMO Letters
Independent Medical Opinions Nexus Letters
Thomas Grieder, MD PhD
25 Years Service as a VA Psychiatrist
Lead Psychiatrist East Los Angeles
PTSD Clinical Team
CDC updates guidance on how COVID-19 spreads
The CDC updated its guidance on COVID-19 transmission May 7,
underscoring that the virus spreads via small respiratory droplets and particles in the air.
Were you hazed while serving in the military? GAO may want to hear from you
The Government Accountability Office is looking for service members who were victims of hazing while they served.
The office is collecting the information for a study on the Defense Department’s efforts to prevent and respond to hazing.
Lodging & Camping in southern Illinois with access to the Shawnee National
We offer lodging, camping,
stabling, corral, pasture,
access to a hunting lease and
discounts for America's
military veterans!
Veterans Law Attorney
Graduate of the US Military Academy West Point, 20 years of active Army service, multiple deployments,
XVIII Airborne Corps, and Third Army, Airborne and Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal badges.
Where did your claim disappear to?
Veterans hit by huge pandemic-related records backlog
National Archives estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to clear the backlog once the records center is fully staffed
I'm Jim Strickland
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The VA Watchdog Dot Org
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 share what I'm reading today, the important stuff. Feedback is always welcomed.
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