Veterans Archive

Veterans: Understanding Veterans Medical Malpractice

October 19th, 2010. By Kristine B

Anyone who has dealt with Veterans Affairs can tell you that the system can be complex and maddening, much like so many other government-operated systems. Dealing with Veterans Affairs medical malpractice can be an exercise in frustration, for many reasons. Today, Pleading Ignorance aims to shed some light on VA medical malpractice.

First, the lawyer stuff: not every attorney will take medical malpractice claims against the VA. Why? Because when you sue the VA you are suing the federal government, and such a lawsuit has its own special rules and regulations. So, if you feel you have a medical malpractice case against the VA, you have to choose an attorney carefully. (Note, when you fill out a claim form here at LawyersAndSettlements.com, the claim form goes to an attorney who specializes in that area of litigation.)

Now, you might think that only incidents that occur at VA medical centers are covered by VA medical malpractice, but that’s not necessarily true. If you were sent by a VA doctor to an off-base provider, you would still be filing a case against the VA because the medical care was provided off-base pursuant to a VA directive. So, if the VA played a role in your medical care—even if it was to send you to an off-base provider—you might still have a VA medical malpractice claim.

To be eligible, the victim—the person who suffered the medical malpractice—must have been registered with the VA system, received treatment from the VA (or had the VA direct them to off-base treatment) and suffered injury or death because of negligence in the system.

It is not only veterans who fall under the VA directive, however. Any of their dependants Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: medical malpractice, Veterans, Veterans Disability
Posted in Veterans | 3 Comments »

VA Claim Denied? Attorney Ben Stewart Gives Advice

October 13th, 2010. By Kristine B

Just about anyone who’s a veteran has had a Veterans Affairs claim at some point in his or her life. Those who haven’t filed a claim likely will at some point in the future. And yet, despite the claims process being somewhat simple, the appeals process can be complex, and if your claim is denied, it’s good to know what rights you have. 

Today, Pleading Ignorance looks at how to file a VA Claim—and what to do if it gets denied. We asked attorney Ben Stewart of Stewart Law, P.L.L.C. for some pointers.

So, to start, let’s assume you’ve filed your VA claim. Once you’ve filed that paperwork, the VA will make a decision about what benefits will be provided to you, if any. So far, so good. 

What to do if the VA Denies your Claim

But, if the VA denies all or part of your claim, you have options—three in fact:

1. Reapply for benefits

2. Request a review of the decision

3. File an appeal 

While you can try to reapply for benefits or request a review of the VA’s initial decision on your claim, you may have more success if you file an appeal. If you appeal the decision you may want to have a lawyer help you. This is because a lawyer who is experienced in veteran claims will know the applicable regulation that can be used to overcome a denial. The lawyer can also represent you in a hearing before the VA appeals board. 

Making things complex is that laws concerning veterans’ benefits are constantly changing. Some of those changes are retroactive and some are only applicable from the date they are put in place. With retroactive changes, you may have previously been denied benefits for a specific condition but can now reapply and receive back benefits from the date of your previously denied claim. 

When the changes are only applicable from the date they are put in place, it doesn’t matter if you previously met the new requirements for benefits, you won’t receive back benefits. But, you may still be eligible to start receiving benefits from the point the regulation was changed going forward. 

For example, the VA has recently relaxed the rule for establishing claims of veterans post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The move makes it easier for veterans to prove they have a disability due to service-related stressors. Veterans who did not qualify for PTSD benefits before, or who were denied benefits under previous rules, may now qualify. But, they will not receive benefits retroactive to their first claim. Rather, they will receive benefits starting from the date of the application filed after the rule change. 

Furthermore, some changes in benefits related to Agent Orange use in Vietnam will be retroactive to the filing date, meaning veterans should file their claims as soon as possible. 

“File now,” says Ben Stewart, attorney at Stewart Law, P.L.L.C. “Even if your claim is denied, you can start the claims period. That way, if it is accepted later, your benefits will go back to the original date when the claims were denied.” 

New medical conditions added to the list of those linked to Agent Orange include heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia. 

“There are new regulations all the time, that’s why veterans should consider a veteran’s benefits attorney who has been tracking changes in the law and advocating for veterans,” Stewart says. 

J. Benton Stewart II, attorney at Stewart Law, P.L.L.C., is an experienced prosecutor, municipal magistrate and civil trial lawyer. Stewart Law specializes in the following areas of practice: Professional Negligence, Legal Malpractice, Securities Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Products Liability, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death.

Tags: Agent Orange, Ben Stewart, Pleading Ignorance, VA Benefits, VA Claim, Veterans, Veterans Benefits, Veterans PTSD
Posted in Pleading Ignorance, Veterans | 6 Comments »

Burn Pits: VA Needs to Reflect Soldiers’ Commitment and Sacrifice

September 20th, 2010. By Hunter West

Signing up for military service—in other words, putting your life as you know it on hold for the benefit of your country—should not be met with questions, stonewalling, or delays from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) when you come back from some god-forsaken sector of the world half the man you used to be.

The VA should kiss the ground you walk on—that is, if you can even walk at all.

Tim Wymore can barely walk. He can do so only with a cane. He can barely stand. Of course, he can’t work. Worse, it seems he can’t look after himself, either. His wife has had to put her career on hold, and suffer the loss of her income (a loss felt by the entire family of five) in order to care for her husband.

Yes, Wymore gets VA disability benefits. But he doesn’t get the full measure of his due. That’s because, incredibly, the VA does not consider his disability permanent. In fact, the VA, according to an article at stltoday.com, thinks Wymore’s condition “may improve”. The obvious question is that if his condition “may” improve, then isn’t it reasonable to think it also “may not”?

So even though the man cannot work, can barely stand, can only walk with a cane and is 44 years old, the VA is withholding benefits that would ensure his family would be looked after once Wymore is gone.

For the Wymores, that sad day is not an ‘if’, but a ‘when.’ And they worry that the ‘when’ is Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: burn pit, burn pit lawsuit, Iraq, VA, Veterans, Veterans Benefits
Posted in Veterans | 1 Comment »

Agent Orange: Is this Really How We Treat our Veterans?

September 15th, 2010. By Kristine B

Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it was increasing the number of health problems linked to exposure to Agent Orange. If you’re not familiar, Agent Orange was a dioxin-laden defoliant used in Vietnam to take away the foliage so the Viet Cong had nowhere to hide. It was previously linked to a variety of health problems, including cancers.

New regulations allow the VA to presume that veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 were exposed to Agent Orange. This means the veterans only have to show they were in Vietnam during that time—they do not have to prove they were exposed to Agent Orange. The new regulations also add medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the list of conditions already linked to Agent Orange.

Basically, the new regulations mean people who were previously denied disability benefits are now eligible to receive those benefits. All they have to do is show they have one of the conditions linked to Agent Orange and show they were in Vietnam during the specified years.

Some people question the move, saying that these medical conditions could have developed in the veterans as they aged—even if they weren’t exposed to Agent Orange. They say the new regulations will cost too much money—money the government doesn’t have.

When do we actually start taking proper care of our veterans? In addition to horrific conditions at some of the VA hospitals, claims of veteran medical malpractice, poor treatment and denials of disability pay, now people don’t want to pay for medical conditions the veterans suffered simply because it could cost too much money?

Haven’t the veterans done enough for the US to warrant a small amount of money for their pain and suffering? Never mind that we used to write off veterans post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and other psychological trauma experienced by veterans—who faced horrors many Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Agent Orange, Alan Simpson, Veterans
Posted in Veterans | 21 Comments »

Grassley ticked at Backlog of Veterans Claims

March 17th, 2010. By AbiK

Yesterday, Senator Grassley fired off a letter to Eric Shinseki—Secretary of Veterans Affairs—sharing his outrage at the number of veterans benefits claims that have gone to appeal and have been unjustifiably denied. According to figures presented in a recent case before the Supreme Court, Astrue v. Ratliff, between 50 to 70 percent of veterans benefits appeals fall into what Grassley refers to in his letter as “not just wrong but unjustified” denials.

Words like “startling”, “dysfunctional”, “cause for concern”, and “alarming” in Grassley’s letter convey the extent to which he—and Chief Justice Roberts who presided over arguments in the Supreme Court case—feel the backlog on vet disability claims is severe, growing and unacceptable.

Grassley is seeking answers to the following questions in an effort to improve the quality of Veterans Administration (VA) claims decisions and to reduce the number of unnecessary appeals:

1. What is the accurate percentage of veterans claims appeals in federal court where the government’s position is found to be unjustified?

2. What is the VA doing to improve the quality of VA claims decisions and reduce unnecessary appeals?

3. What is the total amount of attorney’s fees paid by the VA under the Equal Access to Justice Act for each of the past 5 years?

4. What is the source of the funds for attorney’s fees paid by the VA and were funds diverted from another part of the VA budget to pay these costs?

And he’s looking for those answers by March 26th. Stay tuned.

Tags: Denied Disability, VA, Veterans, Veterans Benefits, Veterans Disability, Vets
Posted in Veterans | 1 Comment »