VA Now Pushing C-123 Veterans' Agent Orange Benefits!

It is absolutely wonderful to see 54 months' hard work on C-123 Agent Orange claims now appear on VA's own benefits web pages!! 

Another day waiting for VA to process my claim – Another day wasted.

VA has a neat website called eBenefits. You can find a lot of info there about their various programs, and also learn that any application for them takes months, usually years. Most usually, years.

Widely derided by veterans for its sluggish response to changes even when they do happen, the general advice by claims experts is and always has been, don't bother monitoring your claim process on eBenefits. Or by calling VA's 800-number, either. In fact, there is nothing any more effective than simply watching the postman to see if you get "the big brown envelope" some day years after applying.

Of course, VA's backlog of older claims has been cut and congratulations to Veterans Benefits Administration for that. A combination of forced overtime, retraining, online applications, computer-based awards calculations, "fully developed claims," and increased staff have brought deserved praise for the improvement.

But buried in the applause for VBA's success is the dirty secret: the claims numbers are manipulated by a variety of tricks. The biggest one is denied claims. A denied claim is then either dropped by the veteran or passed along for decision three to five years later by the Board of Veterans Appeals.

BVA then usually "remands" most claims back to the regional offices for whatever VA shortcomings they identify...wrong forms, forgotten physicals, ignored rules or procedures – a whole raft of VA errors and a list of them so long they can't all be mistakes by the original claims adjudicators. About 70% of these denied claims reaching the BVA are remanded...which is no solution as the regional office then takes months or a year to return the claim to BVA where, still, a huge percentage are simply remanded back again. More mistakes, or original mistakes not even attended to.

It can't all be by accident. And it is a terrible cycle, with claims often decided well past the veteran's death.  Another VBA "secret" is stacking difficult or complex claims for future (if ever) consideration while turning to more straightforward claims which are easier to pump out, thus allowing adjudicators to meet production goals. VA even warns veterans that their complex claims or applications with several issues at hand will take longer. Actually...we should print "PROMISES" veterans such a delay.

BVA is famous among veterans principally for the delay involved in getting one's claim before their judges. Regardless of the particulars, claims can take three to five or even more years to cycle from the local claims office through the Board of Veterans Appeals. My 2011 claim, below, has been awaiting appeal for over two years and hasn't been forwarded yet from the regional office to BVA. I can expect two or more years ahead and then odds are against any resolution, but instead, only a remand.

A frequent error committed by VA in processing claims is to deny them without even having ordered a Compensation and Pension exam, or by ordering one for some irrelevant issue not even claimed by the veteran. In either case, the denied claim forces the veteran to appeal, then has the BVA simply remand back to the regional office for the proper exam. Net loss to the veteran: perhaps one year in the basic claim and three more waiting for BVA and then another year at the local office to either award or, more likely deny again.

Fellow citizens, the months and years that VA refuses care to disabled veterans until claims are approved are terribly long periods to do without medical care, hoping to survive. Despite the wonderful people...and there are many...in BVA, too many veterans are faced with what even VA's own inspectors termed a "high risk" medical system. However, the inspectors didn't add the impact of veterans having care denied to the quality of care itself...that would have earned something even worse than "high risk."

Perhaps non-existent would be a good description for care in such a situation.

VA Expands Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Benefits

VA to Expand Benefits for Traumatic Brain Injury   

Adds Five Illnesses Related to Service-Connected TBI

WASHINGTON – Some Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are diagnosed with any of five other ailments will have an easier path to receive additional disability pay under new regulations developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new regulation, which takes effect Jan. 16, impacts some Veterans living with TBI who also have Parkinson’s disease, certain types of dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures or certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.

“We decide Veterans’ disability claims based on the best science available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “As scientific knowledge advances, VA will expand its programs to ensure Veterans receive the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.”

This regulation stems from a report of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding the association between TBI and the five diagnosable illnesses. The IOM report, Gulf War and Health, Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury, found “sufficient evidence” to link moderate or severe levels of TBI with the five ailments.

The new regulations, printed in the Federal Register, say that if certain Veterans with service-connected TBI also have one of the five illnesses, then the second illness will also be considered as service connected for the calculation of VA disability compensation.

Eligibility for expanded benefits will depend upon the severity of the TBI and the time between the injury causing the TBI and the onset of the second illness. However, Veterans can still file a claim to establish direct service-connection for these ailments even if they do not meet the time and severity standards in the new regulation.

Veterans who have questions or who wish to file new disability claims may use the eBenefits website, available atwww.eBenefits.va.gov/ebenefits.  

Servicemembers who are within 180 days of discharge may also file a pre-discharge claim for TBI online through the VA-DoD eBenefits portal at www.eBenefits.va.gov/ebenefits.

• The published final rule is available at http://www.regulations.gov.

• Information about VA and DoD programs for brain injury and related research is available at www.dvbic.org. 

• Information about VA's programs for Gulf War Veterans is available atwww.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/hazardous_exposures.asp.

The Big Wait - Claim Decided But WHAT Was Decision?

I'm away from home but noticed on eBenefits my two claims has been decided and notification sent.

So...I won't know the results for quite some time. I expect, however, that all issues have been denied because eBenefits' letter request section hasn't changed in any way...it should have if my percentages had been upgraded as requested.

So, the "Big Brown Envelope" will be waiting for me at home in a few weeks. Once I return I'll finally know, after waiting 27 months, if VA has continued their compassionate response to C-123 veterans's claims as per Paul Bailey's award exactly one month ago, or if they continue to oppose our arguments for service connection.

I am a bit surprised on the claim I filed this year, as I haven't even had C&P exams for several of those claimed disabilities...yet it has also been decided.

Let's hope it is good news, as friends like Dick Matti, Mrs. Bill Schindler, Mrs. Aaron Olmsted and others are waiting with even greater concern than I have!