Veterans who seek to appeal the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' denial of their benefits claims often fall into a multiyear black hole of bureaucratic inaction, waiting an average of three years for the agency to simply move their case forward, let alone rule on it. [more]
Released 6/17/19 | Tags: Board of Veterans' Appeals, Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
The Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act. The bill intended to guarantee disability benefits to 90,000 veterans is now headed to the president's desk for a signature. [more]
Released 6/13/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Congressional Legislation, Veteran's Benefits
The U.S. Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday it doesn't plan to appeal a landmark Federal Circuit decision earlier this year extending benefits to so-called Blue Water Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange offshore. [more]
Released 6/10/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
The Justice Department decided Tuesday against appealing a federal court ruling that extends Department of Veterans Affairs benefits to veterans who served on ships off the Vietnam coast during the war. [more]
Released 6/10/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
“It is none of anyone’s business and should never be on a discharge certificate,” says Rochelle Bobroff, director of Lawyers Serving Warriors, a pro bono legal services program for veterans. “If we can remove any mention of sexuality, that is a victory.” [more]
Released 6/10/19 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
The final legal battle for Blue Water Navy veterans to get VA disability benefits for exposure to cancer-causing Agent Orange appears to be over. More than 90,000 veterans who could have been exposed to the toxin during the Vietnam War are now in line for disability benefits from the Veterans Administration after the Justice Department dropped its appeal of a federal court decision from earlier this year. [more]
Released 6/5/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
When Bart Stichman ’74 first began working on behalf of veterans rights more than 40 years ago, he says, “veterans were really treated as second-class citizens.” [more]
Released 6/2/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
In a hearing last week over what could become the first ever certified class action at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, a panel of three judges lambasted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for "doing everything it could" to limit emergency medical care reimbursements to veterans. [more]
Released 5/20/19 | Tags: Class Actions
Department of Veteran Affairs representatives said only a single $12 reimbursement has been paid under the law meant to stop the VA from denying payment for non-VA emergency care, a congressional aide familiar with specifics of a meeting between congressional staff and the VA told News Center 7’s … [more]
Released 5/7/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Veteran's Benefits
On Federal News Network with Tom Temin, National Veterans Legal Services Program Executive Director Bart Stichman discusses the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) recent admission that it misled tens of thousands of veterans who had applied for reimbursement of the emergency –care expenses … [more]
Released 4/17/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Veteran's Benefits