Friday, September 30, 2011
How Do I Appeal Veterans Benefits
VA Pamphlet 01-02-02A, April 2002 " How Do I Appeal " (PDF)
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How can I get a printed copy?
If you just need a personal copy of How Do I Appeal, send your request to:
Mail Precessing Section (014)
Board of Veterans' Appeals
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Board of Veterans' Appeals
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
There is no charge for individual pamphlets.
If you would like to obtain a large quantity of pamphlets, they may be purchased directly from the Government Printing Office (GPO) by calling the GPO order desk at 202-512-1800. On-line ordering is available through GPO's web site at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
VETERAN'S DISABILITY BENEFITS
VETERAN'S DISABILITY BENEFITS
The United States of Veteran Affairs offers benefits for those with disabilities as a result of their military service. They also offer a pension for disabled wartime veterans but only if they have limited income and are disabled or over 65 years of age. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs offers many other benefits for veterans, service members and their families. To see all of the benefits available, you should go to the VA website. You can find the website link at the bottom of this page.
In this section, I will explain who qualifies for VA benefits and discuss the new legislation recently passed that will allow veterans to hire attorneys to help in their pursuit of VA disability benefits.
Eligibility
To be eligible for VA benefits you must be a veteran, a veteran's dependent, a surviving spouse, child or parent of a deceased veteran, an active duty service member, or a member of the reserve or national guard.
Veteran Compensation Benefits
If you are at-least 10 percent disabled as a result of your military service, the VA can pay you monthly compensation. The amount of VA benefits paid is dependent on the percentage of disability. In other words, if the VA finds you 10% disabled, you would get less money than if they found you 80% disabled. Remember, the disability must be "service connected".
Three Part Test
To get VA compensation benefits for service connected disability, there is a three part test.
First, you must have a disability at the present time that has been diagnosed medically.
Second, there must have been a disease, injury or event in the service.
Third, there must be a nexus. This means that the current medical condition is related to the in service medical condition. This may include disabilities that are secondary conditions, due to a disability that is service connected.
Veteran Pension Benefits
You can receive a monthly pension if you are a war time veteran with limited income and you are permanently and totally disabled or are at-least 65 years old. The disability does not have to be "service connected". This is needs based and the veteran must have limited income. These pension benefits are available to those who served during a period of war.
Veterans Administration Process
The process can be long and involve many "appeals."
The first step in all cases, is to file a VA claim at a regional VA Office.
If the veteran does not like the results of the Rating Decision, then a Notice of Disagreement can be filed. After the VA receives the Notice of Disagreement, the VA may ask the veteran if he or she would like a re-review of the case.
At this point, the veteran can now request a hearing. This hearing would be held by a hearing officer.
If the veteran is still disagrees with the decision, he or she can file an appeal with the Board of Veteran Appeals before an Administrative Law Judge. This can take an extremely long time - presently, it is about a 2+ years wait.
If the veteran decides, s/he is still unhappy with the decision s/he can file an appeal with Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The last appeal is to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The United States of Veteran Affairs offers benefits for those with disabilities as a result of their military service. They also offer a pension for disabled wartime veterans but only if they have limited income and are disabled or over 65 years of age. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs offers many other benefits for veterans, service members and their families. To see all of the benefits available, you should go to the VA website. You can find the website link at the bottom of this page.
In this section, I will explain who qualifies for VA benefits and discuss the new legislation recently passed that will allow veterans to hire attorneys to help in their pursuit of VA disability benefits.
Eligibility
To be eligible for VA benefits you must be a veteran, a veteran's dependent, a surviving spouse, child or parent of a deceased veteran, an active duty service member, or a member of the reserve or national guard.
Veteran Compensation Benefits
If you are at-least 10 percent disabled as a result of your military service, the VA can pay you monthly compensation. The amount of VA benefits paid is dependent on the percentage of disability. In other words, if the VA finds you 10% disabled, you would get less money than if they found you 80% disabled. Remember, the disability must be "service connected".
Three Part Test
To get VA compensation benefits for service connected disability, there is a three part test.
First, you must have a disability at the present time that has been diagnosed medically.
Second, there must have been a disease, injury or event in the service.
Third, there must be a nexus. This means that the current medical condition is related to the in service medical condition. This may include disabilities that are secondary conditions, due to a disability that is service connected.
Veteran Pension Benefits
You can receive a monthly pension if you are a war time veteran with limited income and you are permanently and totally disabled or are at-least 65 years old. The disability does not have to be "service connected". This is needs based and the veteran must have limited income. These pension benefits are available to those who served during a period of war.
Veterans Administration Process
The process can be long and involve many "appeals."
The first step in all cases, is to file a VA claim at a regional VA Office.
If the veteran does not like the results of the Rating Decision, then a Notice of Disagreement can be filed. After the VA receives the Notice of Disagreement, the VA may ask the veteran if he or she would like a re-review of the case.
At this point, the veteran can now request a hearing. This hearing would be held by a hearing officer.
If the veteran is still disagrees with the decision, he or she can file an appeal with the Board of Veteran Appeals before an Administrative Law Judge. This can take an extremely long time - presently, it is about a 2+ years wait.
If the veteran decides, s/he is still unhappy with the decision s/he can file an appeal with Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The last appeal is to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Attorneys and Veterans Disability BenefitsNew legislation passed that allows veterans to hire attorneys to represent them for benefits before the Veterans Administration. Prior to this recently legislation, attorney's have been prohibited from charging a fee to represent veterans at the administrative level. This new legislation, if signed by The President, would allow veterans to hire lawyers to help with their veteran benefit claims. This is significant because it allows veterans to get the same advantage of legal representation that Social Security Disability claimants have.
When the new legislation is signed by The President, you will have the opportunity to hire a lawyer to help with your VA disability claim. This opens a new area of law for disability attorneys like myself. I look forward to being able to finally help the many veterans trying to get their Veterans Disability Benefits.
http://www.ultimatedisabilityguide.com/veteran_disability.html
When the new legislation is signed by The President, you will have the opportunity to hire a lawyer to help with your VA disability claim. This opens a new area of law for disability attorneys like myself. I look forward to being able to finally help the many veterans trying to get their Veterans Disability Benefits.
http://www.ultimatedisabilityguide.com/veteran_disability.html
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess Program
What is the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess Program?
The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess Program is authorized by Congress under Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 31. It is sometimes referred to as the Chapter 31 program. The VetSuccess program assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs. For Veterans with service-connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, VetSuccess offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.Services that may be provided by the VR&E VetSuccess Program include:
- Comprehensive rehabilitation evaluation to determine abilities, skills, and interests for employment
- Vocational counseling and rehabilitation planning for employment services
- Employment services such as job-training, job-seeking skills, resume development, and other work readiness assistance
- Assistance finding and keeping a job, including the use of special employer incentives and job accommodations
- On the Job Training (OJT), apprenticeships, and non-paid work experiences
- Post-secondary training at a college, vocational, technical or business school
- Supportive rehabilitation services including case management, counseling, and medical referrals
- Independent living services for Veterans unable to work due to the severity of their disabilities
Who is Eligible for VR&E VetSuccess Services?
- Expect to receive an honorable discharge upon separation from active duty
- Obtain a memorandum rating of 20% or more from the VA
- Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess services
- Have received, or will receive, a discharge that is other than dishonorable
- Have a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%, or a memorandum rating of 20% or more from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)
- Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess services
Active Duty Service Members are eligible if they:
Veterans are eligible if they:
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Veterans Benefits
What the VA does not want you to know and how they are misleading Veterans. One of the most intriguing things I hear from my fellow Veterans is "I don't know what benefits I qualify for. "VA.gov is one of the worst websites I have every been too. There are many websites that claim to help support you with the Veterans benefits but they want to charge you. It's pretty intriguing to me that many veterans are willing to pay and or let there benefits go to waist.
Every state has different type of benefits they offer to veterans.
Has anyone every had good experience with the Va. Seems like the VA is always trying to give you the runaround and not helping the veterans with benefits they deserve. How do we fix this issue what approach should we take?
Every state has different type of benefits they offer to veterans.
Has anyone every had good experience with the Va. Seems like the VA is always trying to give you the runaround and not helping the veterans with benefits they deserve. How do we fix this issue what approach should we take?
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