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Va To Add Parkinson's, Ischemic Heart Disease, And B Cell Leukemias To List
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allan,
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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.
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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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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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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
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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
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Question
allan
http://www.nvlsp.org/Information/ArticleLibrary/AgentOrange/AO-VAaddsdiseasestoAOlist.htm
VA TO ADD PARKINSON'S, ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE, AND B CELL LEUKEMIAS TO LIST
OF AGENT ORANGE-RELATED DISEASES
Relying on a recent report from an independent organization (the Institute
of Medicine), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced on
October 13, 2009, that the VA will add three new diseases to its list of 12
illnesses associated with exposure to Agent Orange. The three newly
recognized diseases are:
. Ischemic heart disease (including coronary artery disease);
. Parkinson's disease; and
. B cell leukemias (such as hairy cell leukemia).
This announcement means that veterans who suffer from one of these diseases
will become entitled to service-connected disability compensation from the
VA as long as they stepped foot on land in Vietnam during active duty at any
time between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. Other veterans who suffer from
one of these diseases will become entitled to these benefits if they can
show that they were exposed to Agent Orange during active duty.
To qualify, it will not matter when the disease first appeared. Thus, a
Vietnam veteran who is first diagnosed with ischemic heart disease 50 years
after discharge from service will become entitled to VA disability
compensation benefits.
The announcement also opens the door to death benefits. Qualifying surviving
family members of Vietnam veterans who have died, or who die in the future,
from one of the three diseases will become entitled to service-connected
death benefits known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
NVLSP's Advice on What to Do Now
The VA will not begin to pay benefits for any of these diseases until it
amends its Agent Orange regulations. This process usually takes months. But
if you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers from one of these diseases, or a
qualifying surviving family member of a Vietnam veteran who died from one of
these diseases, we advise you to take the action described below.
If you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers (or a survivor of a veteran who
died) from one of the three diseases and you never previously filed a VA
disability or death compensation claim for the disease: We advise you to
immediately file with the VA a claim for service-connected disability
compensation (or DIC) for the disease. As a result of the court order NVLSP
obtained in its Agent Orange class action, the VA will be required to pay
you, if your claim is successful, benefits retroactive to the date the VA
first receives your claim. In general, this means that for every month you
delay in filing your claim, you will not be entitled to VA compensation for
that month.
If you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers (or a survivor of a veteran who
died) from one of the three diseases and you did previously file a VA
disability or death compensation claim for the disease: We advise you to
take two steps:
(1) Immediately file with the VA another claim for service-connected
disability compensation (or DIC) for the disease. This will help protect you
from the possibility that the VA will interpret your previous claim as a
pension claim instead of a compensation claim, or as being for a disease
other than one of the three new diseases;
(2) Send email us at agentorange@nvlsp.org and provide the the following
information:
.your full name;
.your current address;
.your current phone number;
.if you are a surviving family member, the full name of the deceased
veteran;
.your VA claims file number;
.the approximate year in which you first filed a disability or DIC claim for
Ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, or a B cell leukemia;
.identify which of the three diseases was the subject of the claim.
Why NVLSP Requests An Email If You Previously Filed A Disability
Compensation or DIC Claim For One Of The Three Diseases:
NVLSP requests this email to help us protect your right to the proper amount
of retroactive benefits if the VA grants your claim. As a result of the
court order NVLSP obtained in its Agent Orange class action, the VA will be
required in the future to go through its records and identify all Vietnam
veterans and survivors of Vietnam veterans who filed a compensation claim in
the past for one of the three diseases. Then, the VA will redecide each of
these prior claims under its new rules. If the claim is granted, the VA will
generally be required to pay you benefits retroactive to the date the VA
received your first disability compensation or DIC claim for the disease.
NVLSP wants to make sure that the VA identifies your case as one it needs to
review under the court order NVLSP obtained in its Agent Orange class
action. NVLSP will compare the list that we ultimately get from the VA with
the emails we receive to ensure that the VA reviews the case of every
Vietnam veteran or survivor it is required by law to review.
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert P. Walsh [mailto:rpwalsh@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 3:43 PM
To: Colonel Dan; Oates, Alan; Ted Papesh
Subject: Retroactive benefits for A/O related Parkinson's
-----Original Message-----
From: bart_stichman@nvlsp.org [mailto:bart_stichman@nvlsp.org]
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 1:13 PM
To: rpwalsh@sbcglobal.net; t.papesh@sbcglobal.net
Cc: ron_abrams@nvlsp.org
Subject: RE: Question?
Ted and Bob -- There is no way I know of to now obtain money from the
chemical companies for anythihg related to Agent Orange given the results of
the law suit discussed in our Veterans Benefits Manual and reproduced below.
As a result of our Nehmer lawsuit, once VA promulgates regs on the 3 new
diseases, it will have to reopen all past claims invovling the 3 diseases
and pay retroactive benefits to date of iniital claim. For advice, go to
our website www.nvlsp.org and click on the lead article on the front page
Excerpt from VBM:
3.8.6.3 The Unsuccessful Lawsuits Against the Chemical Companies
Turning to the more recent lawsuits against the chemical companies, after
the Supreme Court allowed some Vietnam veterans whose injuries first
appeared after January 17, 1995 to try to prove their case against the
chemical company manufacturers, the case was returned to the District Court.
In February 2004, the District Court granted the motion of the chemical
companies to dismiss the case based on what is known as "the government
contractor defense."934 When the U.S. Government contracts with a private
company to produce a product (like the U.S. Government did when it
contracted with the chemical companies to produce "Agent Orange"), the
private company can avoid liability under the government contractor defense
for injuries caused by the product if the company can show that (a) the U.S.
Government approved the specifications for the product; (b) the product
delivered by the company to the U.S. Government conformed to these
specifications, and © the company warned the U.S. Government about any
dangers in the use of the product that were known to the company, but not
known to the U.S. Government.935
The District Court held that "as a matter of fairness and law among the
government, these plaintiffs and these defendants, the contractor defense
has been established."936 In 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court that dismissed the
lawsuit.937 That decision became final in 2009 when the U.S. Supreme Court
declined to hear the case.938 A similar complaint brought on behalf of
Vietnamese nationals was also dismissed.939
Bart Stichman
__._,_.___ "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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