Sec. Wilkie sued over BWN delay

[Berta]

https://www.disabledveterans.org/2019/07/24/advocates-sue-va-secretary-over-delaying-blue-water-claims/

The stay he put on this issue is until January 2020.

Vet orgs are ready to file BWN AO claims. If you were denied in the past by VA for what is now an AO presumptive, and fit into the HR 299 criteria, file the claim.

You will need a copy of their past denial, as it appears ( the general consensus among vet lawyers and advocates, is that Nehmer will kick in)

Nehmer should kick as these vets are supposed to get equity and are supposed to be considered th same way Boots on Ground Vietnam Veterans are.

The problem with the Stay ( moratorium) is that not only can many BWN vets die waiting for the formal regulations, they probably have a spouse who doesn;t have a clue or ,if the spouse is deceased, their adult children would be eligible , ( under Nehmer) for any retro- again- if Nehmer kicks in- and the surviving children  probably wont have a clue either on what this means to them. 

These important VA issues never seem to get enough public attention by the media.....even when the regulations come out, I bet many BWN vets will not know it.

VA is supposed to be going through their claims files, to identify BWN vets or their survivors. I sure do not trust the VA to do a comprehensive search, they cannot even read our evidence properly.

Many will only find out by word of mouth from other veterans and even if a VA doctor knows you are Navy-Vietnam War vet ,and have a  NSC AO presumptive , they are not going to enlighten you on the pending regulations.

 

If Nehmer does NOT kick in, us AO advocates will raise Cain.Or we will help them file a CUE on the past denial......

Heck, I could write the regulations in a heartbeat- they should not take too long to prepare. 

There is also movement to extend the 12 mile limit- but you would have to google all that info.....it is all on the newer Blue Water Navy site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Berta

[broncovet]

"Its the VA way".   Delay, deny, and hope that we die.  Its a tried and true plan that has worked for VA for decades.  

There is a solution:  Pay Veterans interest on monies delayed by the VA.  As long as their remains a "significant financial incentive" to delay payment to Vets, it will continue.  

I mean, gee, if you could delay paying your bills for 4, 5, 10 or even 20 years, interest free, and maybe never have to pay them at all if someone dies first, would you not do the same as VA does???  

The financial incentive for VA to delay us needs to be removed or reversed.  

I find it interesting, that the reverse is not true.  If a Veteran owes the government money, such as to the IRS, significant penalties and interest accrue.  I have no idea how one arm of the government charges Vets for late payments, but fails to charge the government for late payments to Vets.  

Edited July 24, 2019 by broncovet

[Berta]

Well put-I am bumping this up as there is still no lifting of the BWV AO moratorium, due to the lawsuit, but affected vets are still advised to File the claim.

This link to NVLSP has some info on the BWN AO claims process:

https://www.nvlsp.org/news-and-events/news-articles/nvlsps-faqs-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans

There is more here in the AO forum as well......

VA has done very little to make HR 299 public knowledge. Many BWN vets might be in their 70s by now and are not using a PC , or reading a national newspaper, and depend on TV to get news like this.

Secretary Wilkie mentioned Blue Waters and the law signed in June regarding AO, in one short blip on Fox News months ago. If you know any vet who might fall under the BWN AO criteria in HR 299 ( No regulations yet)please advise them on what this might mean to them.

Unlike what VAROs  said they would do in 2010 ( seek vets who filed previously for AO conditions that were denied, but had listed in their rating sheets IHD, Parkinson, or Hairy Cell B lymphoma, coded and rated as NSC, the VA didn't do a good job of that anyhow, and will not be seeking any BWN vets ,under the New pending  regulations.

This goes for widows too who could potentially be awarded AO retro, and in some cases, even DIC.And if no living spouse, it could impact on accrued  retro for their adult children.

 

[broncovet]

I think that Wilkie (and previous, past and future VASEC's) should be sued for delays, not "just" the BWN delay.  

My own claim is an example.  I applied for tdiu in July, 2002, and VA simply ignored it until 2009, where they denied it as "moot".  I appealed,  and it took VA 8 MORE years to award my benefits in 2017. 

Out of income with no money coming in, I predictibaly lost my home, in 2005.  My homelessness, altho it was but a short time (no thanks to VA) is directly attributable to VA delays and denials.   Its no wonder I say, VA's "homeless program" consists of making as many Veterans homeless as possible, by delaying and denying their benefits for as long as possible.  It seems VA can not connect the dots between "homelessness" and a regular income necessary to get and keep a home.  

Now, of course, Im still in appeals, having to appeal the effective date back to 2002.  That is 17 years, and I dont expect to get all this done in 2019 (tho miracles do occur in VA), so it will likely be 18-20 years to process and appeal a tdiu application.  

And mine is not unusual, rather its the norm.  If the VA cant find a glitch delaying your benefits, they make one up.   

Edited October 13, 2019 by broncovet