by Jim Fausone
Veterans Disability Lawyer
We hear from over 400 veterans a month seeking our help; not knowing where to turn. Often it is on disability matters that we can help with – such as obtaining VA disability benefits. Some of the email requests are simply matters we do not work on – such as educational or home loan matters. We also hear tragic stories where the system has failed our veterans. Here is an email request we just received:
“I'm not sure I am at the right place, but I will tell you my story and let you decide. My nephew John Saxon served 4 years in the US Army spending 1 tour in Iraq for 18 months. He was honorably discharged after his 4 year commitment was finished. After 3 years of inactive duty he was recalled to spend another 1 year tour in Iraq. John has battled PTSD since his return over a year ago. He was seen by a VA doctor in Dallas approx. a month ago and was advised to see a psychiatrist and was put on psyche meds. This morning John snapped and killed his mother by shooting her and setting her house on fire. John now sits in the Grayson County (TX) jail on murder charges. My question is what if anything can your organization do and if nothing can you suggest any places I can contact for further help.”
The Army failed John when it discharged him without proper care. The VA failed John when it did not get him immediate help but simply said see another doctor. The Country failed John when we asked him to defend our values but we did not defend him from the demons that resulted. Although it may be too late for John & his mom, we did not want to fail this family one more time. We pointed them to a group in Texas that should be able to help. The importance of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric care for our veterans cannot be overestimated. John is a statistic of the war and now so is his mother. We have seen veteran suicide, criminal activity and homelessness rise. Many of these problems are rooted in mental illness that needs treatment. As we pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq; the Department of Defense (DOD) assists the VA in taking care of the troops after discharge. So much more needs to be done for our returning veterans.
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/-Homicide-MaryLeeSaxon-10-28-11-
John’s sad story is reported in the article above. You will note that they don’t make the connection to his PTSD with his service. Maybe we can ignore it if it’s just a deranged son and his mom in a trailer. We should be outraged and the reporter should tell the real story.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Experienced and practical Michigan attorneys solving the problems of business owners, their families, and veterans... one case at a time.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Country Fails Texas Veteran
by Jim Fausone
Veterans Disability Lawyer
We hear from over 400 veterans a month seeking our help; not knowing where to turn. Often it is on disability matters that we can help with – such as obtaining VA disability benefits. Some of the email requests are simply matters we do not work on – such as educational or home loan matters. We also hear tragic stories where the system has failed our veterans. Here is an email request we just received:
“I'm not sure I am at the right place, but I will tell you my story and let you decide. My nephew John Saxon served 4 years in the US Army spending 1 tour in Iraq for 18 months. He was honorably discharged after his 4 year commitment was finished. After 3 years of inactive duty he was recalled to spend another 1 year tour in Iraq. John has battled PTSD since his return over a year ago. He was seen by a VA doctor in Dallas approx. a month ago and was advised to see a psychiatrist and was put on psyche meds. This morning John snapped and killed his mother by shooting her and setting her house on fire. John now sits in the Grayson County (TX) jail on murder charges. My question is what if anything can your organization do and if nothing can you suggest any places I can contact for further help.”
The Army failed John when it discharged him without proper care. The VA failed John when it did not get him immediate help but simply said see another doctor. The Country failed John when we asked him to defend our values but we did not defend him from the demons that resulted. Although it may be too late for John & his mom, we did not want to fail this family one more time. We pointed them to a group in Texas that should be able to help. The importance of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric care for our veterans cannot be overestimated. John is a statistic of the war and now so is his mother. We have seen veteran suicide, criminal activity and homelessness rise. Many of these problems are rooted in mental illness that needs treatment. As we pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq; the Department of Defense (DOD) assists the VA in taking care of the troops after discharge. So much more needs to be done for our returning veterans.
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/-Homicide-MaryLeeSaxon-10-28-11-
John’s sad story is reported in the article above. You will note that they don’t make the connection to his PTSD with his service. Maybe we can ignore it if it’s just a deranged son and his mom in a trailer. We should be outraged and the reporter should tell the real story.
Veterans Disability Lawyer
We hear from over 400 veterans a month seeking our help; not knowing where to turn. Often it is on disability matters that we can help with – such as obtaining VA disability benefits. Some of the email requests are simply matters we do not work on – such as educational or home loan matters. We also hear tragic stories where the system has failed our veterans. Here is an email request we just received:
“I'm not sure I am at the right place, but I will tell you my story and let you decide. My nephew John Saxon served 4 years in the US Army spending 1 tour in Iraq for 18 months. He was honorably discharged after his 4 year commitment was finished. After 3 years of inactive duty he was recalled to spend another 1 year tour in Iraq. John has battled PTSD since his return over a year ago. He was seen by a VA doctor in Dallas approx. a month ago and was advised to see a psychiatrist and was put on psyche meds. This morning John snapped and killed his mother by shooting her and setting her house on fire. John now sits in the Grayson County (TX) jail on murder charges. My question is what if anything can your organization do and if nothing can you suggest any places I can contact for further help.”
The Army failed John when it discharged him without proper care. The VA failed John when it did not get him immediate help but simply said see another doctor. The Country failed John when we asked him to defend our values but we did not defend him from the demons that resulted. Although it may be too late for John & his mom, we did not want to fail this family one more time. We pointed them to a group in Texas that should be able to help. The importance of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric care for our veterans cannot be overestimated. John is a statistic of the war and now so is his mother. We have seen veteran suicide, criminal activity and homelessness rise. Many of these problems are rooted in mental illness that needs treatment. As we pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq; the Department of Defense (DOD) assists the VA in taking care of the troops after discharge. So much more needs to be done for our returning veterans.
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/-Homicide-MaryLeeSaxon-10-28-11-
John’s sad story is reported in the article above. You will note that they don’t make the connection to his PTSD with his service. Maybe we can ignore it if it’s just a deranged son and his mom in a trailer. We should be outraged and the reporter should tell the real story.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Court Oral Arguments in Detroit
by Kristina Derro
Veteran Disability Lawyer
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) orders oral arguments on certain cases which present an area of law that is considered “unsettled”. The judges request oral arguments so that they can ask questions of both sides and have the attorneys present their views on why the judges should decide in their favor.
On October 26th, three judges, including the Chief Judge, came to Detroit, Michigan to hold a session of the Court at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. The law school offers a Veterans Disability Clinic as part of its practicum experience that its students can take, allowing the students to represent veterans in their service-connected disability claims before VA. The event allowed the students to experience an oral argument and witness how to fully prosecute claims against VA.
The visit by the Court was a two-day event. The first day, the judges’ law clerks lead a class and instructed students on how to prosecute VA claims. The second day was the oral arguments held on an actual case, followed by a question-and-answer period by the three judges. A lunch was then held, during which the law clerks also answered any questions posed to them by the students.
Positive feedback was given from the students. Since the event was open to the public, even local attorneys who practice veterans law were able to sit in on the arguments.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Veteran Disability Lawyer
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) orders oral arguments on certain cases which present an area of law that is considered “unsettled”. The judges request oral arguments so that they can ask questions of both sides and have the attorneys present their views on why the judges should decide in their favor.
On October 26th, three judges, including the Chief Judge, came to Detroit, Michigan to hold a session of the Court at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. The law school offers a Veterans Disability Clinic as part of its practicum experience that its students can take, allowing the students to represent veterans in their service-connected disability claims before VA. The event allowed the students to experience an oral argument and witness how to fully prosecute claims against VA.
The visit by the Court was a two-day event. The first day, the judges’ law clerks lead a class and instructed students on how to prosecute VA claims. The second day was the oral arguments held on an actual case, followed by a question-and-answer period by the three judges. A lunch was then held, during which the law clerks also answered any questions posed to them by the students.
Positive feedback was given from the students. Since the event was open to the public, even local attorneys who practice veterans law were able to sit in on the arguments.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Widow’s Fight on the Home Front
We are delighted to share a happy ending to a long battle with the Veterans Administration (VA) for one of our clients. We will refer to her as “Cindy” and her husband “Max”.
With the death of her husband Max, an Army veteran of Vietnam, in March of 2001, Cindy began the long process of making a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits. She filed her first claim with the VA for DIC in 2002. After many denials of service connected death she sought out our representation in April of 2006 where our claims developer Peter Worthington began research of information that would be submitted to the Regional Office (RO) with the hopes of a new favorable decision.
Our firm was successful in obtaining a remand from the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (USCAVC). We submitted additional evidence; including a medical opinion in February of 2010 to the RO where the claim was once again denied. The medical opinion noted the veterans heart murmur in service was not related to the veteran’s cause of death. However, it did note the cause of death was due to Ischemic heart disease. We appealed the denial from the RO to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). Subsequently, Ischemic heart disease was added to the list of disabilities recognized by the VA as being related to Agent Orange Exposure.
The out-come of the review by the BVA constituted a full grant of DIC benefits for the issue on appeal of service connected cause of death. This month, over 10 years after her initial claim to the VA, Cindy received over $130,000.00 in retroactive benefits; effectively changing the course of the rest of her life.
We hope this gives those fighting for their benefits a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
With the death of her husband Max, an Army veteran of Vietnam, in March of 2001, Cindy began the long process of making a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits. She filed her first claim with the VA for DIC in 2002. After many denials of service connected death she sought out our representation in April of 2006 where our claims developer Peter Worthington began research of information that would be submitted to the Regional Office (RO) with the hopes of a new favorable decision.
Our firm was successful in obtaining a remand from the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (USCAVC). We submitted additional evidence; including a medical opinion in February of 2010 to the RO where the claim was once again denied. The medical opinion noted the veterans heart murmur in service was not related to the veteran’s cause of death. However, it did note the cause of death was due to Ischemic heart disease. We appealed the denial from the RO to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). Subsequently, Ischemic heart disease was added to the list of disabilities recognized by the VA as being related to Agent Orange Exposure.
The out-come of the review by the BVA constituted a full grant of DIC benefits for the issue on appeal of service connected cause of death. This month, over 10 years after her initial claim to the VA, Cindy received over $130,000.00 in retroactive benefits; effectively changing the course of the rest of her life.
We hope this gives those fighting for their benefits a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Friday, October 14, 2011
City of Wayne, Friends Project
Every year the City of Wayne through its “Friends Project” helps a low income resident by providing necessary home repairs and maintenance. This project is successful through the generous donations from local businesses and community volunteers. Approximately 70 volunteers assisted in providing a fresh coat of paint on the exterior of the home and shed, repairing the gates, as well as miscellaneous yard work to the residence of this year’s recipient. Fausone Bohn, LLP, and Legal Help Veterans, PLLC, were large supporters of this project, and through their efforts this project was a huge success. Plans are already in the works for next year’s event.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Congressional Impact on VA RO
by Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer
We get asked by veterans “should I get my Congressman to write VA about the delay and my claim.?” No is the short answer. It is a rare case that we ask for Congressional assistance. Why? Because VA stops everything it is doing on a case to respond to a Congressional staffer's letter. A good example of this is a response we recently received from VA about the status of a claim:
“Mr. Fausone - We have received communication from the Des Moines Regional Office. They have stated the claim file is currently at the regional office and a review of the file has been made. The Veteran’s appeal is still open and pending a decision. (The Veteran had filed a claim for increase for Individual Unemployability (IU) during the appeal, which needed to be processed. There was also congressional interest-3 letters-which had to be reviewed and responded to in the past few months.) The appeal is currently pending completion of a Supplemental Statement of the Case by the appeals team Rating Veterans Service Representative.
VA is telling us that the claim for IU filed during the claim and the 3 congressional interest letters was slowing down the process at the Regional Office (RO). The 3 letters in the past few months “had to be reviewed and responded to” by the VA staff. This means the RO is not working on the claim. So involve your Congressman selectively and not repeatedly. VA is slow enough without giving them another roadblock to getting the basic work done.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Veteran Disability Lawyer
We get asked by veterans “should I get my Congressman to write VA about the delay and my claim.?” No is the short answer. It is a rare case that we ask for Congressional assistance. Why? Because VA stops everything it is doing on a case to respond to a Congressional staffer's letter. A good example of this is a response we recently received from VA about the status of a claim:
“Mr. Fausone - We have received communication from the Des Moines Regional Office. They have stated the claim file is currently at the regional office and a review of the file has been made. The Veteran’s appeal is still open and pending a decision. (The Veteran had filed a claim for increase for Individual Unemployability (IU) during the appeal, which needed to be processed. There was also congressional interest-3 letters-which had to be reviewed and responded to in the past few months.) The appeal is currently pending completion of a Supplemental Statement of the Case by the appeals team Rating Veterans Service Representative.
VA is telling us that the claim for IU filed during the claim and the 3 congressional interest letters was slowing down the process at the Regional Office (RO). The 3 letters in the past few months “had to be reviewed and responded to” by the VA staff. This means the RO is not working on the claim. So involve your Congressman selectively and not repeatedly. VA is slow enough without giving them another roadblock to getting the basic work done.
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
VA Lacks Resources
by Jim Fausone
Veterans Disability Lawyer
Since we have over 600 veteran clients fighting to obtain the disability benefits they deserve, we see a lot of vets who have had problems with the VA system. While the VA health care system is one of the best in the country it is a challenge to have the resources in the proper area at the necessary time. Our veteran clients seem to have the most problems with VA in receiving treatment for their mental health and orthopedic disabilities.
A recent survey of VA social workers, nurses and doctors reports that more than 70 percent believe the department lacks the staff and space to meet the needs of growing numbers of veterans seeking mental health care.
The challenge of balancing the demand for services and the available resources is seen by the numbers. Last year, more than 1.2 million veterans were treated by the VA for a mental health problem, including 408,000 with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. By comparison, 934,000 were treated for mental health problems four years earlier.
The VA is responding to this tidal wave of need for mental health services by increasing staff 47%. The Congress is also keeping an eye on this problem. Read more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-lacks-resources-to-deal-with-mental-health-survey-finds/2011/10/03/gIQAhpuJJL_story.html
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
Veterans Disability Lawyer
Since we have over 600 veteran clients fighting to obtain the disability benefits they deserve, we see a lot of vets who have had problems with the VA system. While the VA health care system is one of the best in the country it is a challenge to have the resources in the proper area at the necessary time. Our veteran clients seem to have the most problems with VA in receiving treatment for their mental health and orthopedic disabilities.
A recent survey of VA social workers, nurses and doctors reports that more than 70 percent believe the department lacks the staff and space to meet the needs of growing numbers of veterans seeking mental health care.
The challenge of balancing the demand for services and the available resources is seen by the numbers. Last year, more than 1.2 million veterans were treated by the VA for a mental health problem, including 408,000 with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. By comparison, 934,000 were treated for mental health problems four years earlier.
The VA is responding to this tidal wave of need for mental health services by increasing staff 47%. The Congress is also keeping an eye on this problem. Read more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-lacks-resources-to-deal-with-mental-health-survey-finds/2011/10/03/gIQAhpuJJL_story.html
To learn more or to contact a Veterans disability lawyer, Veterans disability attorney, Veterans lawyer, or Veterans attorney call 1.800.693.4800 or visit Legalhelpforveterans.com
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