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knifestuff

Seaman
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About knifestuff

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    50%
  • Branch of Service
    Army

knifestuff's Achievements

  1. Would echo TestVet--my experience is that pretty much any lawyer who belongs to NOVA (Nat'l Org. of Vet. Advocates) is gonna be good at what they do--its a smallish group and not a lot of lawyers do vet law--if they do, they belong to NOVA.
  2. If he doesn't qualify for SSDI he can stil apply for SSI, but his VA pension will couonty toward income. The best thing SSI provides is for Medicaid.
  3. Big headllines--Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw out this procedure of the VA--CAFC 2008-7076, dtd Sep 10, 2009. VA can no longer do these reviews--huge deal. Now, the question for all--think the VA's gonna tell everyone affected by this, especially the folks that had been adversely touched by these reviews in the past? More well-deserved headcahes for the VA. Encourage everyone to look hard at the case; good overview is at vawatchdog.org. Remains to be seen just what the fallout will be.
  4. Careful--as long as the vet's alive, the claim for A&A is always the vet's claim... even w/ the spouse being in need. If the vet's drawing 100% T &P already, A&A won't help--the VA's only going to pay the greater of the two benefits. VA can never pay out both comp and pension--just one or the other.
  5. Your social security is not necessarily a bar to the pension--the VA looks at your income after allowable recurring non-reimbursable medical expenses are deducted, to include your Medicare part B contribution, any Medicare Part D, any supplemenetal medical insurance, and any other non-reimbursed med expenses (such as caregivers, asssited living etc.). VA calls this IVAP (income for VA purposes). So. look at what your expense posture is like before you think you won't qualify.
  6. Nothing posted to the Federal Register as of this morning--VA would post it there if they are proposing a rule change. Doesn't mean they aren't considering it, but if so, they aren't ready to propose it yet.
  7. CUE doesn't have to be based on law; it can be based on fact, as well. The real test is, if the error mattered in terms of the rating--if it would have led to a manifest difference in the outcome, then you might be looking at CUE. An age of 38 vs 40 probably doesn't matter.
  8. altered evidence does not equal illegally obtained evidence. altered evidence is still not allowed under the Federal Rules of Evidence. Federal Rules of Evidence do apply to the VA--that was a case about that last year. Due process requires the use of legitimate evidence only in proceedings. (BTW there are a few exceptions to the Exclusionary Rule that can stil provide for use of otherwise inadmissible evidence). Don't get wrapped up about the exclusionary rule; its due process that matters.
  9. next steps are finding out what it means--CAFC said this was a case of first impression, so now will come the hard work--determining what level of due process is due, both from a procedural and a substantive viewpoint. Its gonna make the VA squirm, for sure. The Federal rules on due process in the criminal world are fairly tight; the civil world is not so straight-forward; I offer Social Security as a classic example.
  10. Made a good call, I think. Although not conclusive, a SSA ruling can sure be persuasive w/ the VA.
  11. Philip: The rates for DIC are dependent upon the grade of the disabled Service Member only if the Service Member had passed away prior to Jan 1, 1993; for deaths on or after 1 Jan 1993 the DIC rates are just as you cited.
  12. There are 3 levels of pension to assist needy vets/spouses--special pension, which then may be supplemented by Household or Aid and Attendance. Special pension provides the least amount of benefit, Household adds a little more, and Aid and Attendance is the highest level of benefit. Intro info from the VBA website: Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income, and who are age 65 or older, or, if under 65, who are permanently and totally disabled. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. These are benefits that are paid in addition to the basic pension rate. Aid and Attendance (A&A) is a benefit paid in addition to monthly pension. This benefit may not be paid without eligibility to pension. A veteran may be eligible for A&A when:The veteran requires the aid of another person in order to perform personal functions required in everyday living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, attending to the wants of nature, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting himself/herself from the hazards of his/her daily environment, OR, The veteran is bedridden, in that his/her disability or disabilities requires that he/she remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment, OR, The veteran is a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, OR, The veteran is blind, or so nearly blind as to have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less, in both eyes, or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less. [*]Housebound is paid in addition to monthly pension. Like A&A, Housebound benefits may not be paid without eligibility to pension. A veteran may be eligible for Housebound benefits when: The veteran has a single permanent disability evaluated as 100-percent disabling AND, due to such disability, he/she is permanently and substantially confined to his/her immediate premises, OR, The veteran has a single permanent disability evaluated as 100-percent disabling AND, another disability, or disabilities, evaluated as 60 percent or more disabling. If someone is eeigible and needs this benefit, they should apply--it does take VA a while to process (naturally), but they'll pay retroactive to the date of claim, once the award is made. Just make sure the claimanty is eligible from both a finaincial and a medical perspective.
  13. Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income, and who are age 65 or older, or, if under 65, who are permanently and totally disabled. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. These are benefits that are paid in addition to the basic pension rate.
  14. Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income, and who are age 65 or older, or, if under 65, who are permanently and totally disabled. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. These are benefits that are paid in addition to the basic pension rate.
  15. If you look at the latest posted BVA annual report (for 2007) it doesn't offer much that's positive if you can't get resolution at the RO level--appeals to BVA taking an average of 531 days to get to BVA and another 273 from receipt of appeal by BVA for them to act on it. If you look at the overall caseload, it also indicates that BVA's backlog of cases is actually growing--not a good sign.
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