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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
Subject: [VeteranIssues] 10 Worst States for Unemployed 9/11 Veterans
Date: Jun 30, 2011 3:56 AM
http://moneywatch.bn...-veterans/1302/
As bad as the Great Recession has been for civilians, it's been even tougher on veterans. Thejobless recovery for 9/11 veterans unemployed servicemen and women who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan is much worse than the national average and shockingly bad in a number of states, a new Senate report shows.
Even among all former U.S. military service members, 9/11 veterans have the highest rates of unemployment, according to the latest report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. The numbers are more appalling when measured against the total U.S. workforce. The unemployment rate for 9/11 veterans stood at 10.9 percent at the end of April (the latest date for which data were available) vs. 8.5 percent for the non-veterans, according to the report. (Seasonally adjusted figures put the total U.S. unemployment rate at 9 percent for April.)
May was even more dismal for 9/11 veterans, according to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), when their unemployment rate jumped to more than 12 percent vs. a national average of 9.1 percent. "[The unemployment rate for 9/11 veterans] generally trends more than three percentage points higher than the national average, and spikes to nearly 20 percent for male veterans ages 18 to 24," says Matt Gallagher, IAVA senior writing manager and a former Army captain, via email.
Work Type and Prejudice Partly to Blame
There are a number of factors contributing to higher unemployment rates for 9/11 veterans, the Senate report says. Perhaps the biggest contributor is that the vets were more likely to be working in mining, construction, manufacturing and other sectors of the economy that were hardest hit by the recession.
But that's only partly borne out by the list below. True, Michigan has the highest unemployment rate for 9/11 veterans, for example, and it has one of the highest overall jobless rates, too. However, California, Florida, Mississippi, Rhode Island and South Carolina all suffer from double-digit unemployment and yet none of them are among the top 10 worst states for jobless 9/11 veterans.
Here are the figures for the states with the highest rates of unemployed 9/11 veterans, according to the Senate report. For comparison, total state unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are in parentheses. In many states the unemployment rate for 9/11 veterans is three times higher than the state's overall level.
1. Michigan 29.4 percent (10.3)
2. Indiana 23.6 percent (8.2)
3. Minnesota 22.9 percent (6.6)
4. Montana 20.1 percent (7.3)
5. Tennessee 20 percent (9.7)
6. Kansas 17.2 percent (6.6)
7. Vermont 16.8 percent (5.4)
8. Connecticut 15.5 percent (9.1)
9. Nevada 15.2 percent (12.1)
10. New York 15.2 percent (7.9)
Another factor contributing to the dispiriting data are higher rates of disability among 9/11 veterans, the report notes. Advances in medicine save more veterans' lives than ever before, but that's also led to an increase in people who are unable to work because of service-related trauma. Additionally, men have been more likely than women to have lost jobs due to the recession, and of the 2.5 million 9/11 veterans, more than 80 percent are men, according to the report.
Prejudice also plays a role in 9/11 veteran unemployment, says Gallagher. Hiring veterans is a smart business move, given the work ethics, leadership skills and technological skills young men and women returning from combat possess, he says. "Unfortunately, many of our members have reported encountering vet stigmas during interviews with potential employers," Gallagher says. "The 'crazy vet' stereotype is unfair and inaccurate, and not representative at all of the best and the brightest that have fought these wars."
Whatever the reasons behind the shameful unemployment data, some estimates say the economy won't get back to full employment until 2020. It looks to be an even harder, longer slog for the 9/11 veterans
Read more: http://moneywatch.bn.../#ixzz1Qkuqvij4
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.../VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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