Cue Award For 60 Years Retro

[Berta]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/us/veteran-denied-disability-to-be-repaid-after-60-years.html?_r=3&scp=1&sq=For%20a%20Veteran,%20Disability%20Payment%20Is%20Long%20in%20Coming&st=cse

Claude Unger, veterans advocate, sent me this.

In Part:

“The year Leroy MacKlem lost his veterans disability compensation for a bad hip, gasoline cost 27 cents a gallon, a Yankee shortstop named Rizzuto was the American League’s most valuable player and President Harry S. Truman ordered production of the hydrogen bomb. It was 1950. “

and

“MacKlem is now the poster boy for all these cases,” said Mike Viterna, Mr. MacKlem’s lawyer and president of the National Organization of Veterans Advocates, a nonprofit organization. He called the retroactive award one of the largest he had ever seen. “

and

“But in 1950, the Veterans Administration, as it was then known, severed his compensation, saying that his pain resulted from the “natural progress” of his pre-service injury. His monthly payments of $105 ended.

And there the case sat for 56 years.

In 2006, Mr. MacKlem — for reasons his lawyer could not explain — decided to appeal, saying the department made a “clear and unmistakable error” in its 1950 decision. A regional office in Detroit rejected his argument, and he submitted a notice of disagreement. “

There was more to this long ordeal:

“Then a curious thing happened. Mr. MacKlem received a letter in June 2007 saying that a review officer had concluded that the 1950 ruling was indeed wrong and that he should be granted retroactive benefits.

Mr. MacKlem was not supposed to get that letter. But as it turned out, it was a lucky break for him that he did.

A few weeks later, the department sent him another letter saying that the June notice was only a draft and that his benefits would not be restored. He appealed. And while his appeal was pending, a federal court ruled in 2009 that the department’s “extraordinary award procedure” for reviewing compensation awards larger than $250,000 or for retroactive payments dating back more than eight years was illegal.”

An incredible victory!~

[Notorious Kelly]

Awesome!

If we can afford carriers and cruise missiles, we can afford to take care of our veterans.

Rub their nose in it!

[iceturkee]

wow

[evandc]

Great news. Just sad vet didn't get it years ago when his health was beter & he could really enjoy it.

[Jerrel]

Over $400,000 is a great win..

[midnight340]

A great win indeed!

And yes, too bad he did not receive the money throughout his life.

There are so many vets out there who do not even know they can claim, or that they can disagree with a decision.

The more activity there is on this site or others, the more vets are made aware of their rightful benefits. The more service officers and lawyers do their jobs correctly the more people will be helped. The best thing any of us can do is to try to inform other vets of their rights.

[john999]

You know I got a CUE claim going back to 1971 asking for the difference between 10% and 100% benefits. I have been denied twice at the BVA and remanded at the Court once. My laywer says if I can just hold out I will have a nice payout one day. I discovered the CUE after I got my C-File in 2005. I never would have recognized that the VA had made an error if not for reading Hadit for years. I think that in many of these older claims due process errors were made. For instance, if the VA ignored evidence in making a decision that is a due process error. I know that after WWII it was common for the VA to just terminate claims and then wait to see what the vet would do next.