Entitlement Date on Veteran Claims
Many Veterans logically believe that upon award, their date of entitlement should go back to the date that the problem first arose. Unfortunately, the applicable VA law on this point isn’t as favorable to the Veteran as one would hope. While there are many exceptions, generally the effective date is the date the VA receives […]
New Respiratory Condition Presumptions—What they mean, and how to apply
Effective August 5, 2021, the VA amended its adjudication regulations, adding three respiratory conditions—chronic asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis (including rhinosinusitis)—to a list of presumptive conditions. The VA has long known about hazardous particulate matter exposure (including burn pits, dust storms, etc.), but this represents the first substantive legal change to make it easier for veterans […]
How do I calculate multiple VA ratings?
Many Veterans become confused when they have different service-connected problems that the VA rated them for and may not understand how to calculate them. Veterans occasionally presume that the VA simply adds together the separate VA ratings to get an overall rating. If you have multiple VA ratings you can consult the VA ratings table […]
Agent Orange Claims
Agent Orange (AO) generally refers to any herbicide that was used during the Vietnam War, but the main ingredient within these herbicides that causes most medical problems is dioxin. Dioxins are extremely toxic since they persist in the environment and are known to cause cancer and a host of other problems. Generally, to receive presumptive service connection […]
Discharged due to Personality Disorder?
Many veterans have been unable to access to VA benefits for mental health problems simply because they may have been branded as someone with a “personality disorder” (PD) which is considered by many to be genetically derived and therefore could not be related to service. Most often these disorders were not correctly diagnosed and were […]
How To File for PTSD and Other Mental Health Claims
Many veterans have claims related to traumatic incidents from the military be it in combat, during physical training, accidents, from terroristic based fear, and even assaults or sexual assaults from fellow soldiers. There are countless different types of stressful events that may have caused a veteran’s PTSD and or other mental health problems. PTSD symptoms […]
Preparing for your VA C&P Examinations
Among the most important steps in the VA disability process is the Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination. These exams are administered by the VA to determine both your eligibility for and rating of your disability claims. Although they are just one piece of evidence in the rating process, many VA adjudicators, especially at the lower […]
Duty to Assist under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act
An important feature that most Veterans probably wouldn’t believe is that the VA is actually supposed to assist you whileapplying for VA compensation. This is of course in theory. The applicable rule, the Veterans Claims Assistance Act, also known as the “duty to assist” so that the VA will assistVeterans develop their claims in a […]
Overview of Unemployability (TDIU) Benefits
What is TDIU? Under Total Disability Individual Unemployability or TDIU, the VA pays 100% compensation to veterans who are unable to maintain substantially gainful employment either permanently or temporarily because of service-connected disabilities, even if their actual combined rating is less than 100%. Most recipients have either a 60 or 70% rating but still earn […]
Meeting the Veteran Definition during National Guard Service
Many veterans may reasonably believe they are entitled to benefits based on an injury or disease incurred during National Guard duty but are quickly denied for not meeting the definition as a “veteran”. While veterans who serve for prolonged periods in the primary branches of the military never run into the definitional issue of who […]