Just who do you think
you are?
Stats about veterans.
Percent of U.S. adult population who are veterans in 2017, by state
Employment Data for Veterans With Disabilities
Employment Situation of Veterans Summary
Immigrant Veterans in the United States
Demographics of the U.S. Military
Veterans and Military Documents
Military Programs and Benefits
Facts on Veterans and Entrepreneurship
American War and Military Operations
Casualties: Lists and Statistics
Tinnitus and hearing loss among
Veteran Social Security Beneficiaries
Veteran-Owned Businesses and Their Owners
48 Interesting U.S. Military Facts
The American Veteran Experience and the Post-9/11 Generation
National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics - Quick Facts
Global Firepower - 2019 World Military Strength Rankings
Medical Malpractice - Veterans 1151 Claims
VA Malpractice Attorneys Helping Veterans Harmed By The VA
Veterans Healthcare Rights - Federal Tort Claims -
VA Medical Malpractice Claims, Misdiagnosis, Hospital Negligence, Medical Errors
For a review of your VA malpractice case contact our lawyers today. Our firm serves throughout the nation, and is one of the few firms to have specialized experience in VA malpractice cases.
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and Claims All Go Here
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Toll Free Fax:
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Key findings about America’s military veterans
The experiences of post-9/11 veterans differ from
those who served in previous eras. Post-9/11
veterans more likely to have been deployed,
seen combat, experienced emotional trauma
Should I file a claim?
Potential VA claims?
What am I missing in the VA claims process?
Best way to check on a supplemental claim online?
Confused on what to do with claim.
Dependent status with education benefits.
Suing the VA for negligence and malpractice.
You've Arrived at the VAWatchdog Dot Org!
Welcome Home
We've been keeping veterans informed of news and events important to them since 2005.
You'll find all you need to file your claim and referrals to professionals who can help you when things don't go well.
What you won't find here is unending chat or opinions from strangers who like to think of themselves as experts.
Our goal is to ensure that you are awarded the benefits you earned with your service to our country.
We're here to help you take charge of your benefits, and that is all.
Extra schedular ratings under
How can I get an extra schedular rating?
To receive an extra schedular rating the veteran
must first show that the veteran’s
conditions result in a disability picture
that is not covered by the schedule of ratings.
C&P Service Clinician’s Guide
Scheduled For A C & P??? Filing A Claim?
This is a must read for you!!!
I've been posting this again and again over the years
and it's still one of the best ways I know to win
your case. Published in 2002 the principles and much of
the verbiage still applies and is in daily use at the VA.
VA Urgent Care Pharmacy Locations
Find VA-approved urgent care/retail location
pharmacies near a specific
address or ZIP code, or search by VA Facility.
Vets rapidly losing 2nd Amendment gun rights
Behind the scenes, US military veterans are afraid they are being specifically targeted and are quickly losing their 2nd Amendment rights. According to one group, in over 150,000 instances, they already have.
Has the VA Deprived You of Your Second Amendment Rights? NRA Wants to Hear From You!
VA has been reporting to NICS the identities of its beneficiaries who have been assigned a fiduciary to manage their benefits. VA claims that such determinations constitute an “adjudication of mental defectiveness” under federal law, thereby prohibiting the
beneficiary from acquiring or possessing firearms.
A federal prohibition would exist for any person who:
* Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
* A fugitive from justice.
* An unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
* Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution.
* An alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States or who has been admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa.
* Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.
* Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship.
* Subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner.
* Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
* Under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
In addition to federally prohibitive criteria, the NICS must delay or deny firearm transfers based on applicable state law.
A delayed transaction will be purged from the NICS within 88 days from creation. The NICS Section recommends that you wait 30 days from the date initiating the check prior to filing an appeal on a delay to give the NICS Section’s staff time to
complete the initial transaction.
If your original background check is completed, the Federal Firearm Licensee will be notified with a final status.
Reasons NICS Background Checks are Denied or Delayed
A Denied message from the NICS indicates the subject of a NICS background check has been matched with a similar name and similar descriptive information of a record containing a state or federal prohibition.
A Delayed message from the NICS indicates the subject of a NICS background check has been matched with a similar name and similar descriptive information associated with a record containing a potential state or federal firearm prohibition.
The NICS Section must obtain additional information before making a final determination of a Proceed or Denied for the firearm transfer.
The NICS Section is afforded three business days in which to conduct this research. If the NICS Section is unable to provide either a Proceed or Denied response to the Federal Firearms Licensee within three business days, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 does not prohibit the Federal Firearms Licensee, or FFL, from transferring the firearm; however, the FFL is not required to do so.
Fiduciary Appointments & Gun Laws
Have you been notified that VA will appoint a fiduciary to manage your financial affairs?
Were you told you would not be allowed to purchase or own firearms?
Read the authority they use:
Mental Illness Prohibition (NICS Improvement Act)
Q: Federal law prohibits people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Does the NICS Act change who is covered by this prohibition?
A: No. The NICS Act does not change the prohibition enacted in 1968 that bars people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Under federal law, people may not buy or possess a gun if they are “adjudicated as a mental
defective” or “committed to any mental institution.” ATF regulations define “adjudicated as a mental defective” as a: Determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease:
(1) Is a danger to himself or others; or
(2) Lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.
These regulations have not been changed by the NICS Act. Note that merely seeking or receiving treatment for mental illness is not sufficient to bring someone within this prohibited class.
The NICS Act does provide that persons who are entered into NICS because of this mental illness prohibition may seek “relief from disabilities” by petitioning that their names be removed from NICS if they no longer suffer from the mental health condition that originally barred them from buying or possessing guns.
Veterans and Weapons-Concealed Carry Permits-PTSD and Other Mental Health Conditions
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Appeals
Veterans Affairs & Guns and Weapons
Concealed Carry Permits NICS
Firearms PTSD and Other Mental Health Conditions
I did that for years & it's
the best thing ever. Get
into the belly of the beast.
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Medical Care
RIGHT NOW?
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to use an urgent
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Create or update your will fast / 100% free
Make your will with FreeWill today
Healthcare directives,
proxies, living wills and durable financial power of attorney.
All are free to use.
Is your disability pay fair game in a divorce?
(Yeah, it is...)
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
Owe VA Money???
To Loneliness And Isolation For Seniors
Did you know that hearing loss and tinnitus are the
most commonly rated veterans disabilities? Did you
know that hearing loss and tinnitus can cause
other secondary conditions, particularly mental
health problems like depression and loneliness?
Chronic Pain Is an Impossible Problem
A “safe” alternative to opioid painkillers
turns out to be not so safe.
Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA disability benefits
and a member of the Stateside Legal Website Advisory Board. Jim's Mailbag, is a regular column where veterans,
servicemembers, and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
You can browse all of these Q&As here, and search the Jim's Mailbag archives for helpful answers.
Military Sisterhood Initiative to go live February 18
A social platform to build peer
support community for women Veterans
VAWatchdog Dot Org
Download VA benefit letters
To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter
proving their status.
Why Getting a Diagnosis Matters
A diagnosis does so much more than get noted in your medical history. It also can help you apply for programs like Social Security Disability and medical marijuana cards. And maybe even more importantly, it can help you explain yourself to friends, colleagues and family.
An IMO by an expert often makes the difference!
Misuse of Certain Nonopioid Analgesics on the Rise
Gabapentin, Baclofen May Be Seen
as Opioid Alternatives
Nexus and IMO Letters
Social Security Scammers Are Trying a New Trick
These criminals have added fake emailed documents to their repertoires -- often using the official SSA letterhead.
How to ensure seamless care while traveling
We get $2,470 a month from Social Security
and want a warm, friendly city near the ocean.
For Better Brain Health, Preserve Your Hearing
Hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia, exceeding that of smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and social isolation.
How To File a VA Disability Appeal
You have the right to appeal any benefits decision made by the Veterans Benefits Administration. The VA appeals process is set in law and is different from other judicial appeals processes. Find out how to file an appeal.
Hello Jim...
Can you help me with....
Family Medical Leave Act problems after husband's deployment
Vet being harassed at work
VA doctor malpractice
Child support arrears create hardship
68 year old veteran with cancer
When did the Vietnam era start
Radiation treatment for prostate cancer and now C& P exam
Diabetes claim secondary to OSA
Revisiting child support order
Gulf War veteran behavior found to be willful misconduct
All these and many more answers to your questions can be found at
Has VA medical care caused you an injury or other harm?
You can sue the VA for medical malpractice but it's a complex process and you'll want lawyers who have
done this successfully in the past. There are strict time limits and draconian regulations to follow.
Get some advice today...call now!
Urgent Care Centers
One of the most important benefits you have today is
the authorization to use an urgent care center
near to you. But first, you have to
to take with you. Don't wait until you need this
benefit to prepare for it. Read this now,
print your papers and be prepared!
VA Releases Survivors Quick Start Guide
Reference guide to help during final
arrangements planning
How to file a VA disability claim
Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
or increased disability compensation.
Robert Wilkie <robert.wilkie@va.gov> 855-948-2311
One More Reason You Need An Independent Medical Opinion
VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION
Accuracy of Claims Decisions Involving Conditions of the Spine
'How To Lie With Statistics'
What You Should Know about Disability and Debt
There Are Protections...When it comes to debt collection, disability income enjoys special status.
How Divorce, Alimony, and Child Support
Affect Veterans' VA Benefits
VA benefits can be garnished only for spousal
or child support, and only under certain conditions.
Your 2020 Guide to Social Security Benefits
Whether you’re claiming Social Security in 2020, have been collecting benefits for years, or are still decades away, here’s what you need to know about this critically important retirement program.
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How Do You Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits?
Information on social security disability benefits
The NPRC
Military Records DD 214
Google Tracks You
and we don't.
DuckDuckGo apps block
Google's hidden trackers.
The world needs an alternative
Welcome to the KnowVA Knowledge Base
Locate information more quickly and efficiently
VA launches online patient portal for veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
announced the launch of an online patient portal
this month that will provide service veterans
with digital access to their patient statements.
Medical Marijuana Card
Tell the doctor you saw it on VAWatchdog
and ask about veterans discounts!