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VA Disability Claims: 5 Game-Changing Precedential Decisions You Need to Know
Tbird posted a record in VA Claims and Benefits Information,
These decisions have made a big impact on how VA disability claims are handled, giving veterans more chances to get benefits and clearing up important issues.
Service Connection
Frost v. Shulkin (2017)
This case established that for secondary service connection claims, the primary service-connected disability does not need to be service-connected or diagnosed at the time the secondary condition is incurred 1. This allows veterans to potentially receive secondary service connection for conditions that developed before their primary condition was officially service-connected.
Saunders v. Wilkie (2018)
The Federal Circuit ruled that pain alone, without an accompanying diagnosed condition, can constitute a disability for VA compensation purposes if it results in functional impairment 1. This overturned previous precedent that required an underlying pathology for pain to be considered a disability.
Effective Dates
Martinez v. McDonough (2023)
This case dealt with the denial of an earlier effective date for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) 2. It addressed issues around the validity of appeal withdrawals and the consideration of cognitive impairment in such decisions.
Rating Issues
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Tbird, -
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Are all military medical records on file at the VA?
RichardZ posted a topic in How to's on filing a Claim,
I met with a VSO today at my VA Hospital who was very knowledgeable and very helpful. We decided I should submit a few new claims which we did. He told me that he didn't need copies of my military records that showed my sick call notations related to any of the claims. He said that the VA now has entire military medical record on file and would find the record(s) in their own file. It seemed odd to me as my service dates back to 1981 and spans 34 years through my retirement in 2015. It sure seemed to make more sense for me to give him copies of my military medical record pages that document the injuries as I'd already had them with me. He didn't want my copies. Anyone have any information on this. Much thanks in advance.-
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RichardZ, -
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Caluza Triangle defines what is necessary for service connection
Tbird posted a record in VA Claims and Benefits Information,
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”-
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Tbird, -
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Post in ICD Codes and SCT CODES?WHAT THEY MEAN?
Timothy cawthorn posted an answer to a question,
Do the sct codes help or hurt my disability ratingPicked By
yellowrose, -
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Post in Chevron Deference overruled by Supreme Court
broncovet posted a post in a topic,
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.Picked By
Lemuel, -
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Question
allan
Partial reprint of attached article in PDF format
Mum's the word
A declassified letter by V.K. Rowe
at Dow's Biochemical Research
Library to Bioproducts Manager Ross
Milholland dated June 24, 1965
clearly states that the company knew
the dioxin in their products,
including Agent Orange, could hurt
people.
In reference to 2,4,5,-trichlorophenol
and 2,3,7,8,-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
(components of Agent Orange), Rowe
stated:
"This material is exceptionally toxic;
it has a tremendous potential for
producing chloracne and systemic
injury."
Rowe worried the company would
suffer if word got out.
"The whole 2,4,5-T industry would
be hard hit and I would expect
restrictive legislation, either barring
the material or putting very rigid
controls upon it."
********
The report quotes a 1988 letter from
Dr. James R. Clary, a former
government scientist with the
Chemical Weapons Branch, to Senator
Tom Daschle. Dr. Clary was involved
in designing tanks that sprayed
herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam,
according to the report.
Clary told Daschle:
"When we (military scientists)
initiated the herbicide program in the
1960's, we were aware of the potential
for damage due to dioxin
contamination in the herbicide. We
were even aware that the 'military'
formulation had a higher dioxin
concentration than the 'civilian' version
due to the lower cost and speed of
manufacture. However, because the
material was to be used on the 'enemy,'
none of us were overly concerned. We
never considered a scenario in which
our own personnel would become
contaminated with the herbicide. And,
if we had, we would have expected our
own government to give assistance to
veterans so contaminated."
Chemical warfare: calling a spade a
spade
Supporters of the US's Agent Orange
Campaign prefer to call it an
"herbicide program" rather than
chemical warfare. But official
documents reveal that the US Senate
knew its real name.
In US Senate Congressional Records
dated August 11, 1969, a table
presented to senators showed that
congress clearly classified 2,4-D and
2,4,5-T (main components of Agent
Orange) in the Chemical and Biological
Warfare category.
The table also includes Cacodylic
Acid, a main component of Agent Blue,
another chemical sprayed on Vietnam
to kill plants, in the official Chemical
and Biological Warfare category. The
table describes it as "an arsenic-base
compound.heavy concentrations will
cause arsenical poisoning in humans.
Widely used in Vietnam. It is
composed of 54.29 percent arsenic."
As Vietnam War Scholar and US
Veteran W.D. Ehrhart put it concisely
in a Thanh Nien Daily interview last
week: "It would be hard to describe
Agent Orange as anything other than
a chemical weapon. Dioxin is a
chemical." So is arsenic.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ney, Gerald A CIV [mailto:gerald.ney@navy.mil]
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 2:11 PM
To: ColonelDan
Subject: FW: Dioxin's Dangers Known Beforehand
-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Dwernychuk [mailto:wdwernychuk@telus.net]
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 15:02
Subject: Dioxin's Dangers Known Beforehand
You should find this of interest.
Wayne
__._,_.___Attachment(s) from Colonel Dan
1 of 1 File(s)
Dioxin's_Dangers_Known_THANHNIEN_p3.pdf "Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
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