3M settled with the US government for 9.1 million dollars. The lawsuit was based on a whistle blower who actually notified the government that 3M was selling these earplugs that they were under a defense contract with the US government to provide and with known defects.
Agent Orange and Presumptive Issues
Agent Orange is basically a slang term for any kind of herbicides used during the Vietnam War to kill dense jungle vegetation.
Aid and Attendance
Aid and Attendance is one of the most under-utilized benefits out there. We encourage veterans to do some research and figure out if they think they’re entitled to it or call our office and we will help you.
Appeals Modernization Act
Starting on February 19 of 2019, basically if you get a statement of the case or a supplemental statement of the case, then you are eligible to opt-in to the Appeals Modernization Act, which gives you various different, new tracks that you can go to for your appeals.
Collecting SSD Benefits May Help Your VA Claim
If you are a veteran who has received Social Security Administration Disability benefits, you should submit that disability award to the VA for consideration on your claim for VA benefits.
Compensation Ratings in a VA Disability Claim
Service connected conditions receive a compensation rating. For each particular condition there’s a diagnostic criteria, a percentage and specific symptoms.
DIC Benefits for Survivors of Veterans
If you’re a qualified surviving spouse and, in some cases but much more rare cases, if you have a qualified surviving child or surviving parent in even more rare circumstances, they may be entitled to benefits after the veteran’s passing if that veteran had a service connected cause of death or if they had a total rating for a period of 10 years prior to their passing, then they’d be presumed to have a service connected cause of death.
Disabled Widow’s Benefits
A Widow’s Disability Benefit is usually for people that, if they have not worked, but they’ve had a spouse that has recently passed away, they can draw off of their spouse’s work record as opposed to their work record. It’s good especially if a spouse was making more than the person that is disabled, they are able to draw off of that spouse’s earnings record.
Documentation and Information Needed to Evaluate a VA Claim
Technically speaking, you can call an attorney at any time. But as far as the VA goes, an attorney can’t be engaged, or you can’t have a contract with a veteran, to help them with a disability claim until they receive their initial rating decision.
Filing For A VA Rating Increase?
A VA rating increase is for someone who already has a service connected disability.
Holiday Challenges for Disability Applicants Waiting For Benefits
All our clients come in and get a blue folder. It has some resources and Catholic Social Services and some other things that help with bills and stuff all during the year, but during the holidays for specific holiday help, I think the Salvation Army is one of the greatest resources that we have here on the Gulf Coast.
Increased Ratings in a Veterans Disability Claim
Every veteran who has a service connected disability will have either a specific rating for that one disability, which would also be his total rating, or if they have multiple, they would have individual ratings for each condition and then a total rating.
Individual Unemployability
The higher your total percentage is, the harder it is to get an increase if you get another grant. What unemployability does is, if you were at 60% for one particular condition or 70% for multiple, one of which, with some different variations, is at 40%, you can apply for unemployability, and at that point, they can grant you 100% payment even if you’re not, technically, at 100%.
Nexus Medical Opinions in a Veterans Disability Claim
A Nexus Medical Opinion essentially establishes a relationship between something that happened in the service and a current disability.
Progress for Veterans Disability Claims
“I don’t think that it’s any secret that the VA suffers from an incredible backlog of cases. They take an enormous amount of time to get any decision back to veterans, no matter what stage of the process they’re in.”
PTSD Regulations
The VA made a change to the PTSD regulations in 2010 conceding that the structure involved in getting a PTSD award can be from fear of hostile military activity; allowing veterans who may not have been technically in combat to obtain PTSD disability.
Rapid Appeals Modernization Program
The RAMP program is an acronym for the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program.
Semper Fi Fund | America’s Fund
Scuttlebutt Network a voice of veterans for veterans. It’s on 106.5 FM in Mobile, Alabama. We’re also on the internet and we have a podcast, it’s FM talk 106.5.
Service Connections
There are two basic types of service connections. There’s direct service connection and there’s secondary service connection.
The New VA Appeals Process
So, now when you do want to appeal, you’ll still file a notice of disagreement, but what you’ll do is file it directly with the board of veteran’s appeals, and then at that point, there are three different tracks that you can choose based on what your case looks like, what kind of evidence you have, what the issues are and appeal.
Traumatic Brain Injuries in Veterans
A TBI is just short for traumatic brain injury. And essentially what that means is there is any kind of action or reaction or anything that basically impacts the head or the brain whether it be the force of blast or potentially a gunshot or just different types of shrapnel fragments, different things like that.
VA Compensation and Pension Exams
A Compensation and Pension Exam is an examination that’s set up by the Department of Veterans Affairs in connection with a claim for disability benefits that’s been put in by a veteran.
Veterans Benefits & Dependents
Attorney Jennifer Caldwell Byrd of Gardberg & Kemmerly talks about veterans disability law and the importance of making sure the VA has been notified of your dependents if you are receiving disability benefits.
What is a Non-Service Connected Pension?
Non-service connected pension is a needs based program and may apply if you’re totally and permanently disabled. It doesn’t have to be for a service connected injury or disease.
What is Lay Evidence in a Veterans Disability Claim and Why is it so Valuable?
In a veterans disability claim, lay evidence is basically any evidence and all evidence that is not medical. If you have a statement from the veteran, a statement from his family members, friends, people that they served with, any statement regarding the veteran’s condition or things that happened in the past, anyone who’s not a medical professional but would have personal knowledge regarding the veteran’s either current condition or in service injury, things like that. It’d be any kind of non-medical expert that can provide some kind of information that’s pertinent to the claim.
Why Do I Need An Attorney To Help With My VA Disability Claim?
Having an attorney to help with a VA disability claim is useful to identify evidence needed to win the claim by establishing service connection or to get a rating increase, and to work to best represent the veteran through the entire appeals process.
Why Should I File For A VA Rating Increase
A VA rating increase is for someone who already has a service-connected disability. As soon as you think your condition worsens, you should file a claim for a rating increase with the VA as soon as possible.
Writs to Court of Appeals for Veterans
The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is a federal court that is specifically there to adjudicate claims from the Board of Veterans Appeals. So if you have a decision from the Board of Veterans Appeals, you went to your hearing or you didn’t request a hearing but let’s say you get denied for whatever the issue may be, your next step if you don’t want to file a motion for reconsideration with the Board is to appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Changes in Agent Orange Regulations
The changes in regulations with Agent Orange involve three new conditions: hairy cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, and ischemic heart disease. Changes allow veterans with any of these who were exposed to Agent Orange to file for disability.